09/03/2008  Shatin  Race 2

REDHILL COMMANDER began awkwardly. MAXIMUM CHARM, which bounded in the air at the start, was crowded for room shortly afterwards between HORSE POWER and HEADINGLEY, both of which shifted ground. Near the 400 Metres, ABLE DANCER, which was laying in, was awkwardly placed close to the heels of LUCKY RED. Over the concluding stages, CHEEKY LAD raced tight outside HEADINGLEY. As a consequence, CHEEKY LAD was not ridden out to the end of the race as it normally would be. Apprentice C W Wong (GLENEALY ELITE) said the horse, which had been fractious in the barriers, threw its head up repeatedly after the start was effected and as a consequence lost a considerable amount of ground. Before being allowed to race again, GLENEALY ELITE will have to perform satisfactorily in a stalls test. When questioned, C K Tong (MIRACULOUS) said he was instructed to have the horse begin well and travel where it was comfortable. It was anticipated this would be in a forward spot. Accordingly after MIRACULOUS began well, he did not ride his mount along in the early stages, rather he allowed it to settle and race in a position slightly worse than midfield. He said when placed under pressure MIRACULOUS responded fairly to his riding. When questioned, B Prebble (THE ONLY KID) said the horse hung in badly in the early and middle stages and for this reason approaching the 200 Metres he considered obtaining a run to the inside of SUPER PLUS in order to prevent THE ONLY KID from continuing to hang in. He said when that horse shifted in passing the 200 Metres, he was obliged to come to the outside of that horse and whilst THE ONLY KID was still inclined to lay in, the horse raced more tractably than it did in the early part of the race. CHEEKY LAD and GLENEALY ELITE were sent for an official veterinary inspection. A veterinary inspection of CHEEKY LAD after the race did not show any significant findings. After the race, GLENEALY ELITE was examined by the Veterinary Officer. He said an endoscopic examination showed a substantial amount of mucopus in the horse's trachea. HOLI RAVIOLI and SUPER PLUS were sent for sampling.