25/06/2022  Shatin  Race 8

ROMANTIC COMBO was withdrawn on 23.6.22 by order of the Stewards acting on veterinary advice (fever). Before being allowed to race again, ROMANTIC COMBO will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. AMAZING TEENS and FLYING DRAGON bumped at the start. SO WE JOY shifted out on jumping and bumped HANDSOME TWELVE. RED DESERT began awkwardly and shifted out, inconveniencing ULTRA EXPRESS. After this, ULTRA EXPRESS was shifted across behind runners. Also from wide barriers, DECRYPT and HELENE WISDOM STAR were steadied in the early stages and shifted across behind runners to obtain cover. VILLA FIONN lost its right front plate in the early stages. Near the 1300 Metres, CHANCHENG PRINCE was left racing wide and without cover. Passing the 800 Metres, HELENE WISDOM STAR was left racing wide and without cover. HANDSOME TWELVE was held up for clear running rounding the Home Turn and in the early part of the Straight, lay in and was reluctant to shift to the outside of HELENE WISDOM STAR approaching and passing the 300 Metres. After this, HANDSOME TWELVE continued to lay in and proved difficult to ride. Over the concluding stages, CHANCHENG PRINCE and APACHE PASS raced tight. When questioned, A Hamelin stated that he was instructed to shift RED DESERT across behind runners from a wide barrier and obtain a position with cover if possible. He said when commencing to shift RED DESERT in passing the winning post on the first occasion, his mount commenced to race ungenerously and hung out. He said RED DESERT continued to hang out for a considerable distance and he had to place heavy pressure on the right rein in order to prevent RED DESERT from shifting towards the outside. He said it was not until after the 1000 Metres that RED DESERT commenced to race more tractably. He said because of RED DESERT’s racing manners in the early stages, the horse was then not able to finish the race off. A veterinary inspection of RED DESERT immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. The performance of RED DESERT was considered unacceptable. Before being allowed to race again, RED DESERT will be required to perform to the satisfaction of the Stewards in a barrier trial around a bend and be subjected to an official veterinary examination. A veterinary inspection of HELENE WISDOM STAR and FLYING DRAGON immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. AMAZING TEENS, SO WE JOY and APACHE PASS were sent for sampling.