05/06/2014  Happy Valley  Race 5

AFFLUENCE OF RAIN, which was fractious in the barriers, began awkwardly and lost ground. PHOTON WILLIE and HEROIC GURU bumped at the start. On jumping, SILLY BUDDIES and DOMINEER were crowded for room between GETAWAY GUY and YOU READ MY MIND which shifted out. In this incident, DOMINEER and GETAWAY GUY bumped, causing both horses to become unbalanced. From the outside barrier, ABLE WARRIOR was taken across behind runners in the early stages. Shortly after entering the Straight, HAWTHORNE shifted out and bumped YOU READ MY MIND, causing both horses to become unbalanced. In the early part of the Straight, SILLY BUDDIES got its head on the side and after the 300 Metres was awkwardly placed close to the heels of HONG KONG DANCER. Near the 150 Metres, SILLY BUDDIES was shifted to the inside of YOU READ MY MIND after being awkwardly placed close to the heels of that horse. KING DERBY lost its left front plate after passing the winning post. When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of DOMINEER, Z Purton stated that he had been asked to ride DOMINEER in a position behind the speed given that there were a number of horses that had previously shown good speed in their races which were more favourably drawn. He said however that due to the make-up of the race in the early stages, he was not able to obtain cover on DOMINEER and was left racing three wide and without cover after the 1000 Metres. He said due to the manner in which horses appeared to be advantaged by racing towards the middle of the track, he was not overly concerned by having to travel three wide as DOMINEER travelled strongly in the early and middle stages. He added making the Home Turn DOMINEER continued to travel strongly and he expected the horse to quicken when placed under pressure at the entrance to the Straight. He said however that DOMINEER immediately came under pressure and did not respond to his riding and commenced to weaken out of the race prior to the 200 Metres. He said near the 150 Metres DOMINEER shifted in abruptly, however, at this time the horse was well beaten and was giving ground noticeably. He added after the race DOMINEER appeared to be striding out freely and he did not believe the horse racing three wide and without cover was a reasonable excuse for its disappointing performance. Mr C Fownes, the trainer of DOMINEER, stated that DOMINEER is still a young horse which is yet to fully mature. He said the horse had done particularly well since its last start and a forward showing was expected. He said whilst the horse was disappointing, he felt tonight’s race was run differently than last start when the horse was able to obtain a trailing position behind the leaders. A veterinary inspection of DOMINEER immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. The performance of DOMINEER, a last start winner, was considered unacceptable. Before being allowed to race again, DOMINEER will be required to perform to the satisfaction of the Stewards in an official barrier trial and be subjected to an official veterinary examination. DOMINEER, HAWTHORNE and HONG KONG DANCER were sent for sampling.