26/11/2014  Happy Valley  Race 4

After being loaded, MISTER MARC became fractious and reared. MISTER MARC was removed from the barrier stalls and examined by the Veterinary Officer who said in his opinion it was suitable to race. Before being allowed to race again, MISTER MARC will be required to perform satisfactorily in a stalls test. EVERSPRING was crowded for room on jumping between ELECTRONIC GOSPEL and MIZZEN GREY, both of which shifted ground. SURE CHAMP began awkwardly. N Rawiller (DRAGON) was found guilty of a charge of careless riding [Rule 100(1)] in that passing the 1600 Metres he permitted his mount to shift in when not clear of HIGH SPEED METRO, causing that horse to clip the heels of DRAGON and blunder when it lost the running to which it was rightfully entitled.  N Rawiller was suspended from riding in races for a period to expire on Thursday, 11 December 2014 on which day he may resume race riding (3 Hong Kong racedays).  The commencement of the suspension was deferred until after the Sha Tin racemeeting on Sunday, 30 November 2014. Approaching the winning post on the first occasion, HUMONGUS was momentarily hampered by DRAGON which shifted in. Passing the 1100 Metres, HIGH SPEED METRO got its head up on a number of occasions when awkwardly placed close to the heels of GOLD TARTINI. Making the turn after the 600 Metres, DRAGON and GOLD TARTINI raced tight due to GOLD TARTINI laying in. Passing the 300 Metres, EVERSPRING was taken in by ELECTRONIC GOSPEL which hung in when awkwardly placed close to the heels of TELECOM SUPREMO which shifted in. After this, ELECTRONIC GOSPEL was checked away from the heels of TELECOM SUPREMO and was shifted to the outside of that horse passing the 200 Metres into clear running. Near the 250 Metres, EVERSPRING was shifted to the inside of the heels of MISTER MARC in an attempt to obtain clear running. However, EVERSPRING was checked passing the 200 Metres when disappointed for running between SURE CHAMP and MISTER MARC, both of which shifted ground. As the Stewards were satisfied that EVERSPRING had not established running between SURE CHAMP and MISTER MARC, no further action was taken. Passing the 100 Metres, MISTER MARC was awkwardly placed outside the heels of SURE CHAMP which shifted out. When questioned, A Atzeni stated that he had been instructed if possible to obtain a position with cover in midfield or in front of midfield on MIZZEN GREY from an inside draw. He said in the early stages he rode his mount along to clear GOLD TARTINI to his inside, however, when that horse maintained its position inside MIZZEN GREY, his mount was left racing in a three wide position initially with cover. He said however that passing the winning post on the first occasion he was left racing without cover outside GOLD TARTINI and that he was unable to position MIZZEN GREY so as to obtain cover. He added after the 1200 Metres the pace of the race slackened and he did give consideration to allowing his mount to stride forward to obtain a position closer to the rail, however, due to his instructions he felt that using MIZZEN GREY up to go forward at this time may not have been in the horse’s best interests. He said in hindsight he should have allowed the horse to improve its position rather than continuing to race wide and without cover given the sectionals of the race at the relevant times. The Stewards advised A Atzeni that, in their opinion, he should have permitted his mount to improve its position at this time rather than covering unnecessary ground. A veterinary inspection of GOLD TARTINI and HIGH SPEED METRO immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. ENJOY THE GAME and SURE CHAMP were sent for sampling.