25/09/2011  Shatin  Race 6

SUPER HORSE was slow to begin and then shortly after the start was crowded for room between KING OF FISH II and BOUNCER which began awkwardly and shifted out. From a wide barrier, IRON HAWK was taken across behind runners shortly after the start. Passing the 900 Metres, ROCK’N TYPHOON raced tight between KING OF FISH II and AMAZING JOURNEY, both of which shifted slight ground. Over the concluding stages, SUPER HORSE became unbalanced when racing tight between CHINA DRAGON and BOUNCER which, when closing off the race strongly, was shifted out into tight running between SUPER HORSE and REAL GENERAL. In this incident, SUPER HORSE bumped the hindquarters of CHINA DRAGON which became unbalanced. When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of AMAZING JOURNEY, B Prebble stated that at its final start last season when successful, the horse was able to obtain a good run on the fence on a “Good to Yielding” track. He said in contrast today AMAZING JOURNEY was obliged to travel three wide and without cover throughout the race. He said rounding the Home Turn AMAZING JOURNEY wanted to hang out. He added that although AMAZING JOURNEY did have some excuses today, the horse was nonetheless disappointing in its failure to respond to his riding in the Straight. A veterinary inspection of AMAZING JOURNEY after the race did not show any significant findings. After the race, Z Purton reported that NEW LEADER was making an abnormal breathing noise. A veterinary inspection of NEW LEADER after the race including an endoscopic examination revealed that the horse had a soft palate dorsal displacement, otherwise there were no significant findings. SUPER HORSE, DOUBLE DRAGON and ROCK’N TYPHOON were sent for sampling.