22/02/2009  Shatin  Race 2

ZABEEL TREASURE was withdrawn on 20.2.09 by order of the Stewards acting on veterinary advice (inappetance) and was replaced by Standby Declared Starter MAGIC PRACTITIONER (H W Lai). Before being allowed to race again, ZABEEL TREASURE will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. After arriving at the Start, M Du Plessis (GUAN DAO) expressed concern over the action of the horse during the preliminary. GUAN DAO was examined by the Veterinary Officer who said after consulting with the jockey the horse was in his opinion suitable to race. OASIS DAVIS was slow to begin. GIANT BLIZZARD and AASHIQ began awkwardly, bounded in the air and lost ground. WINNER SMART began awkwardly and was then taken across behind runners. GUAN DAO got its head on the side and hung out making the turn at the 800 Metres and was then steadied away from the heels of WITHALLMYHEART. STAR LEGEND, which was following, was steadied in consequence. In the middle stages, OASIS DAVIS hung out. At the 600 Metres, WINNER SMART was steadied away from the heels of OASIS DAVIS. Making the Home Turn, OASIS DAVIS had difficulty obtaining clear running and STALLION SUPREME hung out. On straightening, WITHALLMYHEART was steadied and shifted to the outside of SMART KNIGHT. The declaration of weighed-in was deferred as the Stewards considered an incident occurred inside the final 300 Metres which cast doubt on whether AMAZING FLYER (C Soumillon) ought to be declared 3rd placegetter. After viewing the official videos of the race, the Stewards formed the opinion that inside the final 200 Metres AMAZING FLYER shifted out from behind STALLION SUPREME to obtain clear running and in doing so bumped AASHIQ (D Whyte), 4th placegetter, which as a result became unbalanced and shifted wider on the track. Having in mind the manner in which the respective horses were closing the race off and the three quarter of a length margin between them at the finish, the Stewards decided not to proceed with a formal protest/objection hearing and as such declared weighed-in on the numbers as semaphored by the Judge. C Soumillon was told to exercise care. At the 200 Metres, OASIS DAVIS was checked to avoid the heels of WINNER SMART (B Prebble) which when being shifted to the outside of SMART KNIGHT to obtain clear running shifted out abruptly. In the circumstances, B Prebble was severely reprimanded and told to exercise greater care when shifting ground. At the 150 Metres, B Prebble dropped his left rein. In the Straight, MAGIC PRACTITIONER hung in. Throughout the race, SMART KNIGHT and MAGIC PRACTITIONER travelled wide and without cover. GUAN DAO was sent for an official veterinary inspection. A veterinary inspection of GUAN DAO after the race did not show any significant findings. AMAZING FLYER, WINNER SMART and STALLION SUPREME were sent for sampling. <23/2/2009 Additional Veterinary Reports> GUAN DAO, which performed poorly, was examined by the Veterinary Officer. He said at that time there were no significant findings. GUAN DAO was again examined by the Head of Veterinary Regulation & International Liaison at the stables of Trainer A Lee this morning. He said at this time he noted the horse to have a stiff and restricted action. Before being allowed to race again, GUAN DAO will be subjected to an official veterinary examination.