09/05/2015  Shatin  Race 7

CHATER ROCK was withdrawn on 8.5.15 by order of the Stewards acting on veterinary advice (inappetence and blood abnormality) and was replaced by Standby Declared Starter NOBLE ALPHA (B Prebble). Before being allowed to race again, CHATER ROCK will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. WINDICATOR STAR proved difficult to load and then began awkwardly. Before being allowed to race again, WINDICATOR STAR will be required to perform satisfactorily in a stalls test. HAYMAKER shifted out at the start and bumped BEAUTY JOURNEY. NOBLE ALPHA and TRIUMPHANT JEWEL bumped on jumping. Shortly after the start, HAYMAKER raced tight between BEAUTY JOURNEY which was awkwardly placed inside the heels of ST YAZIN and NO MONEY NO TALK which shifted out. Near the 500 Metres, BUDDY BUNDY raced in restricted room between E-SUPER and AMBITIOUS KING which got its head on the side and lay in. After the 400 Metres, LONGWAH SILENT was awkwardly placed outside COUNTRY MELODY which shifted ground. Passing the 300 Metres, WINDICATOR STAR was steadied and shifted to the outside of BUDDY BUNDY when crowded for room between that horse and LONGWAH SILENT, both of which shifted ground. When WINDICATOR STAR was shifted to the outside of BUDDY BUNDY, HAYMAKER was steadied away from the heels of that horse for a short distance after the 200 Metres. Approaching the 100 Metres, COUNTRY MELODY, which was giving ground abruptly, was steadied when briefly crowded for room between NO MONEY NO TALK and LONGWAH SILENT, both of which shifted a minimal amount of ground. When questioned regarding the performance of COUNTRY MELODY, J Moreira stated that his mount travelled satisfactorily in the early and middle stages when he had the horse travelling on the bit. He said after placing the horse under pressure near the 300 Metres, it lost its action and then gave ground noticeably thereafter. He said, in his opinion, COUNTRY MELODY did not handle today’s track conditions. A veterinary inspection of COUNTRY MELODY immediately following the race did not show any significant findings, however, the horse was unable to be scoped due to being fractious. After the race, Apprentice H N Wong stated that apart from wanting to lay in throughout the race, he was not able to offer any reason for AMBITIOUS KING’s disappointing performance. A veterinary inspection of AMBITIOUS KING immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. E-SUPER, TANGO FIRE and ACCEPTED were sent for sampling.