17/12/2014  Happy Valley  Race 3

YEUNG SING shifted out at the start and bumped IT CAN ONLY BE YOU. Shortly after the start, SMART GUY was checked when crowded for room between BAMBOO DANCE which shifted out marginally after being bumped by FLYING IN and KING HARADASUN which was taken in by FOUR FOUR FIVE (U Rispoli) which shifted in. U Rispoli was severely reprimanded and advised that whilst he had made some endeavour to straighten his mount, he would be expected to make more of an effort than he did on this occasion. From a wide barrier, ENJOY THE GAME was shifted across behind runners in the early stages. Near the 1600 Metres, EVERSPRING was momentarily crowded for room inside HUMONGUS. Approaching the 1300 Metres, SMART GUY shifted out when awkwardly placed close to the heels of EVERSPRING, resulting in BAMBOO DANCE and ENJOY THE GAME being inconvenienced. For some distance after the 1200 Metres, IT CAN ONLY BE YOU proved very difficult to settle and got its head up on repeated occasions when awkwardly placed close to the heels of YEUNG SING. Then near the 900 Metres, IT CAN ONLY BE YOU, which was continuing to prove difficult to settle, shifted in when being checked away from the heels of YEUNG SING and in doing so bumped the hindquarters of HUMONGUS, causing that horse to become unbalanced. Making the first turn prior to the 600 Metres, EVERSPRING and BAMBOO DANCE raced in restricted room between SMART GUY and ENJOY THE GAME which, when being ridden along, got its head on the side and lay in. After initially being directed out by FLYING IN passing the 100 Metres, EVERSPRING (H W Lai) then shifted out away from that horse and made heavy contact with KING HARADASUN, causing both horses to become unbalanced. H W Lai was reprimanded and advised that whilst there was some initial movement from FLYING IN, in the circumstances he should have stopped riding and straightened his mount to avoid shifting out further and interfering with KING HARADASUN. Throughout the race, FLYING IN travelled wide and without cover. When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of ENJOY THE GAME, M Demuro stated that the horse travelled only fairly in the early and middle stages as was the case when he rode it last start. He said he attempted to ride ENJOY THE GAME in a similar manner tonight as he did last start when successful in that he had attempted to improve its position in the Back Straight. He said despite being vigorously ridden along during this part of the race, ENJOY THE GAME did not improve its position as it did last start, rather the horse lost ground and then was most disappointing in its failure to respond to his riding at any stage. He added ENJOY THE GAME did not feel relaxed during the race and because of this he recommended to the connections that they consider experimenting with the gear on ENJOY THE GAME. Mr P F Yiu, the trainer of ENJOY THE GAME, stated that although the horse had some hard racing at its recent starts, nonetheless it had pleased him in its track work since then. He said although horses coming from back in the field appeared disadvantaged tonight, nonetheless he still believed that ENJOY THE GAME was disappointing in that it did not improve its position at any stage. He said acting on Jockey Demuro’s recommendation, he will consider altering the gear carried by ENJOY THE GAME in its future races after monitoring the horse’s progress in the coming days. A veterinary inspection of ENJOY THE GAME immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. The performance of ENJOY THE GAME, a winner at its last two starts, was considered unacceptable. Before being allowed to race again, ENJOY THE GAME will be required to perform to the satisfaction of the Stewards in an official barrier trial and be subjected to an official veterinary examination. A veterinary inspection of KING HARADASUN immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. KING HARADASUN, MISTER MARC and FOUR FOUR FIVE were sent for sampling.