30/04/2023  Shatin  Race 10

THE IRISHMAN and DROMBEG BANNER bumped at the start. KEEFY jumped awkwardly, shifted out and then made contact with FANTASTIC TREASURE which also commenced awkwardly. FLAMING RABBIT also jumped awkwardly. Approaching the 300 Metres, RED LION was shifted to the outside of KEEFY to obtain clear running and in doing so bumped with BEAUTY ETERNAL. Near the 250 Metres, RED LION was steadied when crowded between KEEFY which shifted out slightly whilst giving ground and BEAUTY ETERNAL (Z Purton) which shifted in. Z Purton was advised to exercise more care. Passing the 50 Metres, DROMBEG BANNER shifted out under pressure and then was steadied away from TUCHEL which shifted in slightly. After the race, K C Leung (KEEFY) reported that after being taken to a three wide position near the 1000 Metres, when TUCHEL shifted out to obtain a position behind DROMBEG BANNER, KEEFY was then taken out further when KEEFY shifted to the outside of DROMBEG BANNER approaching the 700 Metres. He added due to the wide run that his mount experienced in the middle stages, it was left without a finishing effort. A veterinary inspection of KEEFY immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. When questioned, H Bowman (BELUGA) stated that from the outside barrier he was instructed to ride his mount conservatively in the early stages to obtain cover closer to the rail. He said near the 1200 Metres BELUGA stumbled and became unbalanced for a short distance thereafter. He further stated that BELUGA then travelled satisfactorily thereafter and on straightening he improved to the inside of runners where BELUGA responded well before its run peaked near the 100 Metres. Trainer D J Hall confirmed the instructions issued. A veterinary inspection of BELUGA immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. When questioned regarding MR ASCENDENCY racing further back in the field, T Marquand confirmed his instructions were to hold a more forward position, but MR ASCENDENCY was slow to begin. He added that as he elected to shift MR ASCENDENCY across behind runners in the early stages to avoid racing wide, this resulted in his mount settling further back than anticipated. A veterinary inspection of MR ASCENDENCY immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. MR ASCENDENCY, BEAUTY ETERNAL and CIRCUIT STELLAR were sent for sampling.