16/07/2023  Shatin  Race 6

SPEEDY CHARIOT was withdrawn on 13.7.23 by order of the Stewards acting on veterinary advice (lame left fore) and was replaced by Standby Declared Starter AMAZING TRAVIS. Before being allowed to race again, SPEEDY CHARIOT will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. ENDEARED and ARIEL bumped at the start. MULTIDARLING shifted out on jumping and bumped FASTPASS. MULTIDARLING was then shifted across behind runners in the early stages. AMAZING TRAVIS jumped awkwardly and lost ground. COPARTNER AMBITION raced keenly in the early stages and when crossed by MAYHEM near the 1000 Metres got its head up. Near the 200 Metres, MULTIDARLING became unbalanced when crowded between KASI FARASI which shifted to the inside of KARMA to obtain clear running and BEAR SLAM which shifted out when positioned close to MAYHEM as that runner gave ground. Also near the 200 Metres, EVER BLESSING was checked when crowded between FASTPASS and SPEEDSTAR (M F Poon) which shifted in and away from ENDEARED when that runner also shifted in. M F Poon was reprimanded and advised in similar circumstances he would be expected to stop riding and straighten his mounts with a greater effort than he did on this occasion. Near the 150 Metres, FASTPASS was momentarily crowded by SPEEDSTAR which shifted in and away from ENDEARED. EVER BLESSING raced wide and without cover for the majority of the event. After the race, L Ferraris (COPARTNER AMBITION) stated that his mount failed to respond to his riding in the Home Straight and, in his opinion, felt as though there was something amiss with the horse. A veterinary inspection of COPARTNER AMBITION immediately following the race which included an endoscopic examination showed a substantial amount of blood in the horse’s trachea. The performance of COPARTNER AMBITION, favourite for tonight’s race, was considered unacceptable. Before being allowed to race again, COPARTNER AMBITION 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 his riding in the early stages and the reasons his mount was obliged to race three wide after drawing barrier 2, M F Poon stated that in the early stages SPEEDSTAR did not show sufficient pace to hold out COPARTNER AMBITION. He said when crossed by that runner near the 1100 Metres, the pace of the event steadied and as a result SPEEDSTAR commenced to race keenly and shifted out which then obliged SPEEDSTAR to race three wide thereafter. A veterinary inspection of MAYHEM and MY INTELLIGENT immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. A veterinary inspection of MULTIDARLING immediately following the race found that horse to be a "roarer”. COPARTNER AMBITION, KARMA and ARIEL were sent for sampling.