28/06/2014  Shatin  Race 4

WILD BOY and TRENDIFUL bumped at the start. DRAGON ENERGY shifted in abruptly on jumping and made heavy contact with ELEGANT FRAMES which in turn shifted in and bumped the hindquarters of SUPER TORNADO. Shortly after the start, HEARTLAND got its head up and after travelling a short distance shifted in and bumped BRILLIANT DREAM which was awkwardly placed outside the heels of BOULD MOVER. From a wide barrier, SWEET BEAN was taken across behind runners in the early stages. Passing the 900 Metres, TRENDIFUL was steadied away from the heels of BOULD MOVER which, when racing to the inside of TOMODACHI, got its head on the side and hung in despite the considerable efforts of its rider, J Moreira. In this incident, WILD BOY, which was racing inside TRENDIFUL, became unbalanced after being bumped by that horse. HAPPY CHAMPION, which was following TRENDIFUL, was checked away from the heels of that horse in consequence and in doing so shifted in, resulting in SEA WARRIOR being crowded for room. For some distance after this, HAPPY CHAMPION was awkwardly placed close to the heels of TRENDIFUL and passing the 800 Metres shifted in when continuing to race ungenerously, resulting in SEA WARRIOR being badly crowded for room. For some distance making the first turn after the 900 Metres, BRILLIANT DREAM proved difficult to settle and got its head up on a number of occasions when awkwardly placed close to the heels of ELEGANT FRAMES. Passing the 600 Metres, SEA WARRIOR was momentarily inconvenienced when racing tight inside BRILLIANT DREAM. After this, SEA WARRIOR was shifted to the outside of the heels of BRILLIANT DREAM to improve. HAPPY CHAMPION had some difficulty obtaining clear running in the early part of the Straight. Near the 350 Metres, WILD BOY was bumped by TRENDIFUL which, after initially being taken in by SUPER TORNADO, then got its head on the side and shifted in of its own accord. For some distance after the 300 Metres, WILD BOY was held up after racing tight inside TRENDIFUL and close to the heels of TOMODACHI. Near the 50 Metres, TOMODACHI and BOULD MOVER raced tight. At the 50 Metres, SEA WARRIOR was momentarily steadied away from the heels of BRILLIANT DREAM (B Prebble) which shifted out under pressure. B Prebble was reprimanded and told that in future he would be expected to stop riding and straighten his mount in similar circumstances. For the majority of the race, DRAGON ENERGY and SUPER TORNADO travelled wide and without cover. Immediately after the race, TOMODACHI (Apprentice C Y Lui), which finished 3rd, was found to be in an agitated state and distressed due to post-race heat stress. Despite a number of attempts by Apprentice Lui and stable staff to unsaddle the horse, they were unable to remove the saddle due to the horse’s agitated state. Acting on a recommendation from the Veterinary Officer that TOMODACHI required immediate attention, the Stewards, having regard to the horse’s welfare and so as to ensure that there was not an unreasonable delay to weighed-in being semaphored and also being satisfied that there were no circumstances which suggested that less than the proper weight was carried throughout the race, decided it was appropriate that weighed-in be declared on the numbers semaphored by the Judge without Apprentice Lui weighing in. As it was the third occasion during recent racing seasons that TOMODACHI had been reported to have been distressed following a race, the Stewards will interview Trainer D Cruz, who was not present at today’s racemeeting, on a date to be fixed regarding the horse’s racing future. A veterinary inspection of TRENDIFUL immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. HAPPY CHAMPION and BRILLIANT DREAM were sent for sampling.