20/11/2011  Shatin  Race 3

MEDALLIST, which was leaning on the inside of its stall, was slow to begin. THANKSGIVING and SOLAR GREAT bumped heavily at the start. TAKE BY STORM shifted out at the start and hampered HOT ASSET. GRAND CHAMPION was slow to begin. From the outside barrier, F S WINNER was taken across behind runners shortly after the start. Making the first turn near the 900 Metres, HOT ASSET shifted in and bumped WINNER SMART, resulting in both horses becoming unbalanced. Near the 850 Metres, when being steadied to allow TAKE BY STORM to cross, GOLD RACER got its head on the side and shifted out towards the heels of TAKE BY STORM. After the 400 Metres, REGAL ARMY and GOLD RACER bumped due to GOLD RACER shifting out from behind GLOBAL WIN into clear running. Then near the 300 Metres, REGAL ARMY got its head on the side, shifted in and in doing so became unbalanced when being steadied away from the heels of GOLD RACER. Between the 300 Metres and the 200 Metres, FORTUNE BRAVO had difficulty obtaining clear running. For the majority of the race, FORTUNE SIX travelled wide and without cover. When questioned, G Mossé said he had been instructed to lead on TAKE BY STORM. He said he had to push the horse along in the early stages to cross GOLD RACER to its inside. He said after obtaining the lead approaching the 800 Metres, he attempted to steady the tempo on TAKE BY STORM, however, GLOBAL WIN improved to its outside and TAKE BY STORM would not settle despite his efforts to ease the tempo of the race. He added because of the manner in which TAKE BY STORM had travelled, the horse was then not able to close off its race. When questioned, D Beadman stated that THANKSGIVING raced greenly throughout the race. He said in the early stages he was obliged to ride THANKSGIVING along and then approaching the first turn was required to slap the horse down the shoulder on a number of occasions with the whip in order to maintain its position. He said had he not have done this, THANKSGIVING would not have been able to be positioned as prominently as it was. He said when racing inside SOLAR GREAT after the 800 Metres, he was required to continually ride the horse along hands and heels to maintain its position as THANKSGIVING was racing greenly and was reluctant to continue to maintain its position. He added in the early part of the Straight he balanced the horse up in order to have it change its lead leg which it was able to do near the 300 Metres. He said when this happened, THANKSGIVING commenced to travel more genuinely and when placed under pressure with the whip after this point finished off the race fairly. A veterinary inspection of REGAL ARMY after the race including an endoscopic examination showed a substantial amount of blood in the horse's trachea. Before being allowed to race again, REGAL ARMY will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. REGAL ARMY, SOLAR GREAT and GOLD RACER were sent for sampling.