10/11/2021  Happy Valley  Race 8

On arrival at the Start, M F Poon expressed concern regarding the action of EXUBERANT. EXUBERANT was examined by the Veterinary Officer who said that the horse was lame in its right hind leg and as such was not suitable to race. Acting on this advice, EXUBERANT was withdrawn by order of the Stewards. Before being allowed to race again, EXUBERANT will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. A LA KING began very awkwardly, shifted out and bumped ASTROLOGER which became unbalanced and lay in, resulting in A LA KING being further hampered. TELECOM SMART and SEVEN HEAVENS bumped at the start. SEVEN HEAVENS then lay in and inconvenienced TELECOM SMART shortly after the start. FAMILY FOLKS shifted out on jumping and inconvenienced HIGH RISE SOLDIER. After this, from a wide barrier, HIGH RISE SOLDIER was shifted across behind runners to obtain cover. From a wide barrier, SCORES OF FUN was also steadied in the early stages to obtain cover. Near the 1150 Metres, SOLID IMPACT momentarily raced in restricted room between SEVEN HEAVENS and CALIFORNIA CONCORD, both of which shifted ground. ASTROLOGER made the turn near the 1000 Metres awkwardly and then for some distance after the 900 Metres prove difficult to settle and near the 850 Metres shifted in and inconvenienced A LA KING. Near the 550 Metres, SEVEN HEAVENS was crowded for room inside CALIFORNIA CONCORD (C L Chau) which shifted in. C L Chau was reprimanded and told to ensure that he is properly clear when shifting ground in similar circumstances. After the 550 Metres, MY ECSTATIC was left racing wide and without cover. After the 500 Metres, TELECOM SMART got its head on the side, lay in and became unbalanced of its own accord. Passing the 250 Metres, TELECOM SMART was crowded for room inside SOLID IMPACT (C Schofield) which lay in. Whilst the Stewards acknowledged that SOLID IMPACT was laying in at this stage, nonetheless C Schofield was told to ensure that he makes every endeavour to prevent his mounts from shifting ground in similar circumstances. After this, TELECOM SMART had some difficulty obtaining clear running for a short distance. After the race, L Ferraris stated that SEVEN HEAVENS came under pressure passing the 400 Metres and then despite being ridden along rounding the Home Turn and in the early part of the Straight did not quicken as he anticipated. He said SEVEN HEAVENS then stayed on one-paced until after the 200 Metres at which stage the horse commenced to give ground and then weakened over the concluding stages. A veterinary inspection of SEVEN HEAVENS immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. The performance of SEVEN HEAVENS, a last start winner, was considered unacceptable. Before being allowed to race again, SEVEN HEAVENS will be required to perform to the satisfaction of the Stewards in a barrier trial and be subjected to an official veterinary examination. When questioned regarding the performance of BEAUTY GLORY, Z Purton stated that he had to make a lot of use of the horse in the early and middle stages to obtain a forward position. He said BEAUTY GLORY was left racing three wide and without cover until after the 600 Metres when the horse was able to shift across to race outside the lead, however, by this time he had had to ride BEAUTY GLORY along more than he would have wished. He said dropping back in distance from 1400 Metres at Sha Tin to 1200 Metres at Happy Valley tonight, he was of the opinion that BEAUTY GLORY was never able to travel comfortably and for this reason the horse gave ground in the Straight after coming under heavy pressure rounding the Home Turn. He added based on the manner in which the horse performed tonight, he is of the opinion that BEAUTY GLORY may be better suited in races where the horse is able to travel more comfortably than it did in tonight’s race. A veterinary inspection of BEAUTY GLORY immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. A veterinary inspection of HIGH RISE SOLDIER and TELECOM SMART immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. FAMILY FOLKS, SCORES OF FUN and CALIFORNIA CONCORD were sent for sampling.