05/02/2012  Shatin  Race 1

TRAVEL KING began very awkwardly and lost ground at the start. After being slow to begin, LOTS OF FUN was steadied and lost ground soon after the start when crowded for room between TRAVEL KING and GOOD JOB which shifted out. Soon after the start, WINNER SMART shifted out and made contact with MERRY TOWKAY. On the first turn, TRAVEL KING and GREY WHIZZ made contact and became unbalanced when crowded for room inside STAR SON which was awkwardly placed on the heels of RUN TO WIN. When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of PLANET, H W Lai stated that he was instructed to ride the horse in midfield with cover if possible. He said after beginning only fairly, he rode PLANET along in the early stages, however, the horse did not muster speed and as he felt that he would be caught wide if he continued to press on, near the 900 Metres he steadied PLANET and took the horse back across behind runners to find a position closer to the fence. He added when placed under pressure prior to the Home Turn PLANET responded only for a short distance, however, after that closed off the race only one-paced and was disappointing. A veterinary inspection of PLANET after the race did not show any significant findings. When questioned regarding the performance of STAR SON, Apprentice K C Ng stated that he rode the horse along in the early stages to find a midfield position with cover as instructed. He said that after initially obtaining a position behind MERRY TOWKAY, when that horse crossed over towards the rail on the first turn, STAR SON was left racing in a four wide position and without cover. He said after enduring a wide run in the middle stages, STAR SON then hung in when placed under pressure in the Straight and did not stretch out satisfactorily. A veterinary inspection of STAR SON after the race including an endoscopic examination showed a substantial amount of mucopus in the horse's trachea. Before being allowed to race again, STAR SON will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. WINNER SMART and GOOD JOB were sent for sampling.