22/04/2015  Happy Valley  Race 5

DOUBLE POINT was withdrawn on 21.4.15 by order of the Stewards acting on veterinary advice (sore both fore feet) and was replaced by Standby Declared Starter DIAMOND FRIENDS (J Moreira). Before being allowed to race again, DOUBLE POINT will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. On arrival at the Start, D Lane expressed concern regarding the action of WINNING APEX. WINNING APEX was examined by the Veterinary Officer who said after the necessary consultations that the horse was suitable to race. SPINNING DANCER began only fairly. ABLE TALENT was slow to begin. CIRCUIT STAR was also slow to begin and shortly after the start was steadied away from the heels of DIAMOND FRIENDS which shifted in. After this, CIRCUIT STAR was shifted across behind runners. From the outside barrier, HOUSE OF LUCK was also taken across behind runners in the early stages. Approaching and passing the winning post on the first occasion, ENDORSING, which was proving very difficult to settle, was checked away from the heels of BEST HOPE. WINNING MASCOT, which was following ENDORSING, got its head up when being steadied away from the heels of that horse in consequence. Approaching the 1300 Metres, SPINNING DANCER momentarily raced tight inside BEST HOPE. After the 1100 Metres, ABLE TALENT travelled keenly and passing the 1000 Metres was shifted out and allowed to improve its position, however, subsequently raced wide and without cover for the remainder of the race. Passing the 1000 Metres, HEROIC GURU was awkwardly placed close to the heels of SPINNING DANCER. After the 1000 Metres, ENDORSING was awkwardly placed close to the heels of BEST HOPE. Approaching the 800 Metres, CIRCUIT STAR was checked away from the heels of HEROIC GURU which was steadied away from the heels of SPINNING DANCER. Making the turn after the 600 Metres, HEROIC GURU raced tight inside ENDORSING which got its head on the side and shifted in away from DIAMOND FRIENDS. For a short distance after this, HEROIC GURU continued to race in restricted room inside ENDORSING. Over the concluding stages, TWIN TURBO and BEST HOPE raced tight due to BEST HOPE shifting in under pressure. For the majority of the race, WINNING APEX travelled wide and without cover. When questioned, D Whyte (ENDORSING) stated that his mount had hung in badly throughout the race and in the early part of the Straight was still inclined to hang in. He said as he felt that SPINNING DANCER was the only horse to his inside, he allowed ENDORSING to lay in behind UNIQUE HAPPIEST in order to shift SPINNING DANCER in towards the rail and obtain clear running to the inside of UNIQUE HAPPIEST. He said as he was doing this, he became aware that HEROIC GURU was positioned to the inside of SPINNING DANCER which he was previously unaware of. He said when he became aware of this, he immediately shifted ENDORSING to the outside of UNIQUE HAPPIEST and commenced to ride his mount along. He added that ENDORSING continued to lay in under pressure for the remainder of the race. A veterinary inspection of WINNING MASCOT immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. UNIQUE HAPPIEST, TWIN TURBO and BEST HOPE were sent for sampling.