11/12/2011  Shatin  Race 9

CHATER MIKADO was slow to begin. From a wide barrier, TAVERNER was taken across behind runners shortly after the start. Near the 600 Metres, WITHINMYHEART was steadied away from the heels of KING MOSSMAN which itself was awkwardly placed inside the heels of STRAIGHT GOLD. In this incident, CHATER MIKADO, which was racing inside WITHINMYHEART, became unbalanced when momentarily crowded for room. Near the 200 Metres, FLYING TOGETHER was steadied away from the heels of SIR EAGLES (B Doyle) which shifted out. B Doyle was severely reprimanded and advised in similar circumstances he would be expected to make every effort to prevent his mounts from shifting ground. Near the 150 Metres, MAJESTIC FALCON was steadied out away from the heels of STRAIGHT GOLD which was giving ground. When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of STRAIGHT GOLD, D Beadman stated that it had been intended for the horse to be in about 4th or 5th position if possible. He said after beginning well he elected to steady his mount in the early stages and obtain a trailing position. He said however that when racing outside the heels of KING MOSSMAN, STRAIGHT GOLD travelled too keenly and he was not able to position STRAIGHT GOLD behind runners. He said for this reason he allowed the horse to stride forward in an endeavour to have it race closer to the fence. He added STRAIGHT GOLD was obliged to race three wide and without cover until rounding the Home Turn when it was able to momentarily shift in to a position one horse off the fence. He said because of the manner in which STRAIGHT GOLD raced in the early and middle stages, the horse then came under pressure after the 300 Metres and weakened out of the race over the final 200 Metres. He said having in mind STRAIGHT GOLD’s racing manners today, he did recommend to connections to experiment with gear in the future to have the horse settle better in its races. A veterinary inspection of STRAIGHT GOLD after the race including an endoscopic examination showed a substantial amount of mucopus in the horse's trachea. STRAIGHT GOLD, MAJESTIC FALCON and PIZZAZZ were sent for sampling.