09/11/2011  Happy Valley  Race 1

MEDIC CHAMPION and NOBLE FLIER bumped at the start. In the early stages, EPATANT travelled wide and without cover and was consequently taken back to a position towards the rear of the field with cover. Also in the early stages, HUA SHI travelled wide and without cover and passing the winning post on the first occasion was allowed to improve its position. For some distance in the early stages, FANTASTISCH got its head up when proving very difficult to settle. Approaching the winning post on the first occasion, FANTASTISCH continued to get its head up on a number of occasions when awkwardly placed close to the heels of SUNNY SKY. Passing the 1200 Metres, VANQUISH DELIGHT became unbalanced when racing in restricted room inside SUNNY SKY which got its head on the side and shifted in slightly. When questioned regarding the performance of SUNNY SKY, D Beadman stated that at its last start when successful, the horse was able to race close to the fence which was of assistance to it due to its inclination to hang in in its races. He said tonight he rode SUNNY SKY along in the early stages with a view of again racing on the fence, however, CHEERFUL DOUBLE improved its position to its inside and the horse was then obliged to race in a position one horse off the fence. He said from this point onwards SUNNY SKY attempted to hang in and proved difficult to settle. He added when shifted out rounding the Home Turn, SUNNY SKY continued to hang in towards SABINA which was also shifting out at this time. He said this resulted in SABINA and SUNNY SKY making contact near the 250 Metres and causing SUNNY SKY to become unbalanced. He said irrespective of this, SUNNY SKY was under pressure to maintain its position and, in his opinion, the horse’s performance could be attributed to the fact that it wanted to hang in throughout the race. He added due to SUNNY SKY’s racing manners tonight, he suggested to connections to consider experimenting with the gear worn by the horse in its future races. A veterinary inspection of SUNNY SKY after the race did not show any significant findings. SUNNY SKY, CHEERFUL DOUBLE and KING GALILEO were sent for sampling.