06/03/2011  Shatin  Race 3

PRETTY ONE was difficult to load. Before being allowed to race again, PRETTY ONE will be required to perform satisfactorily in a stalls test. ELITE FORTUNE and WISER were slow to begin. From wide barriers, KING OF HEARTS and EURO POWER were taken across behind runners shortly after the start. Passing the 900 Metres, KING OF HEARTS and EURO POWER bumped on a number of occasions, resulting in both horses becoming unbalanced. Over the final 50 Metres, AFFLUENCE OF RAIN was taken wider by PRETTY ONE which shifted out. Throughout the race, MR AWARD travelled wide and without cover. When questioned, C K Tong (VITAL SMART) stated that he had been instructed to go forward in the early stages and position VITAL SMART on the rail. He said it was intended that if other runners showed superior speed in the early stages, he should sit behind those horses. He said after riding VITAL SMART along in the early stages to clear FLYING SMART, he elected to steady his mount passing the 1000 Metres, however, when OUR PEGASUS improved its position to be racing outside VITAL SMART, VITAL SMART commenced to over-race and travelled too keenly and for this reason he was not able to steady the tempo on VITAL SMART. A veterinary inspection of FLYING SMART after the race did not show any significant findings. PRETTY ONE and AFFLUENCE OF RAIN were sent for sampling.