27/12/2016  Shatin  Race 2

SUPERNATURAL was withdrawn on 25.12.16 by order of the Stewards acting on veterinary advice (lame left front foot) and was replaced by Standby Declared Starter PERFECT TIMING (M Chadwick). Before being allowed to race again, SUPERNATURAL will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. S de Sousa (AMAZING ALWAYS) was fined $2,000 for failing to initially weigh out with a girth. ISLAND FLYER began awkwardly and lost ground. IMPERIAL SEAL and SHOW MISSION bumped heavily at the start. DRAGON GLORY began awkwardly. Approaching the 1300 Metres, RED HORSE, which had been ridden along to improve its position, was momentarily crowded for room inside GENTLEMEN. After the 1000 Metres, AMAZING ALWAYS was left racing wide and without cover. For a considerable distance after the 1000 Metres, HOLY STAR was reluctant to maintain its position despite being hard ridden. Making the turn after the 900 Metres, BEST JADE TRIUMPH momentarily raced in restricted room inside SHOW MISSION. Passing the 500 Metres, LUCKY PLACE was awkwardly placed outside the heels of POMPADOUR which made the Home Turn awkwardly and shifted out. Passing the 400 Metres, DRAGON GLORY raced in restricted room between POMPADOUR and CHARITY PLENTY. Passing the 150 Metres, PERFECT TIMING, which was closing off the race, was shifted in away from the heels of GENTLEMEN and in doing so bumped RED HORSE. Throughout the race, CHARITY PLENTY travelled wide and without cover. When questioned, O Murphy stated that he had ridden SILVER GATSBY in some of its track work and in a barrier trial leading up to today's race and in the barrier trial, the horse had been reluctant to compete and he had had to ride it along for a considerable distance to prevent it from dropping out of the trial. He said with this in mind, he rode SILVER GATSBY along in the early stages to take up a forward position and after being able to obtain the lead, he was then reluctant to steady the horse as he was concerned that it would come off the bridle and then would not race competitively. He said although he realized that the race was being run at a faster tempo than what he might have hoped, he believed that this was a better option given his knowledge of the horse. He added he felt that the best way for the horse to be competitive would be to try and establish a break over the field approaching the Home Turn, however, once IMPERIAL SEAL improved to the outside of SILVER GATSBY passing the 300 Metres, SILVER GATSBY then gave ground abruptly. A veterinary inspection of RED HORSE and ISLAND FLYER immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. AMAZING ALWAYS and IMPERIAL SEAL were sent for sampling.