28/09/2015  Shatin  Race 6

ASIA RISING, Standby Declared Starter, was withdrawn on 27.9.15 by order of the Stewards acting on veterinary advice (lame left fore). Before being allowed to race again, ASIA RISING will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. DANEWIN EXPRESS began very awkwardly, shifted in abruptly and bumped the hindquarters of IMPERIAL GALLANTRY, causing that horse to become unbalanced and DANEWIN EXPRESS to lose ground. STRATHEARN shifted out on jumping and bumped WIRE TO WIRE. From a wide barrier, PLAIN BLUE BANNER was shifted across behind runners in the early stages. Making the turn after the 900 Metres, MOTIF was bumped on the hindquarters by HAPPY AGILITY which shifted out. Near the 750 Metres, STRATHEARN got its head up when being checked away from the heels of ORACLE which was awkwardly placed behind WATCH KING. For some distance approaching and passing the 600 Metres, ORACLE was awkwardly positioned close to the heels of WATCH KING. Then rounding the Home Turn and in the early part of the Straight, ORACLE was held up for clear running behind WATCH KING which commenced to give ground. STRATHEARN had some difficulty obtaining clear running in the early part of the Straight and near the 100 Metres was shifted out away from the heels of TRAVEL NUMBER ONE. For the majority of the race, GLACIER BLUE travelled wide and without cover. WIRE TO WIRE lost its left front plate after the race. When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of HAPPY AGILITY, J Moreira stated that in the early stages he was able to obtain a good position behind RAGING BULL one horse off the rail. He said making the first turn HAPPY AGILITY shifted out of its own accord and bumped the hindquarters of MOTIF which resulted in HAPPY AGILITY becoming badly unbalanced. He said after this HAPPY AGILITY commenced to prove difficult to settle and passing the 800 Metres got its head up when being checked away from the heels of RAGING BULL. He said he was able to shift out away from the heels of that horse and obtain cover behind TRAVEL NUMBER ONE after the 700 Metres. He said near the 600 Metres HAPPY AGILITY again became unbalanced when racing tight inside GLACIER BLUE and he had to commence to ride his mount along passing the 500 Metres to hold its position. He said HAPPY AGILITY stayed on one paced until about the 200 Metres at which point the horse commenced to give ground. He added whilst HAPPY AGILITY was unbalanced at various times during the race, nonetheless the horse was disappointing in the manner in which it failed to finish off the race. A veterinary inspection of HAPPY AGILITY immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of TRAVEL NUMBER ONE, Z Purton stated that he had ridden the horse in its two barrier trials in the lead up to today's race but more importantly he had ridden the horse in its track work and this work was very good. He said accordingly it was felt that TRAVEL NUMBER ONE would perform well in the race. He said he was following HAPPY AGILITY passing the 900 Metres and when that horse became unbalanced, he shifted TRAVEL NUMBER ONE out into a three wide position behind MOTIF. He said TRAVEL NUMBER ONE was then left racing without cover near the 700 Metres, however, continued to travel well. He said as TRAVEL NUMBER ONE was first up in today's race, he nursed it along in the early part of the Straight and expected that, when asked, TRAVEL NUMBER ONE would respond well. He added however after placing the horse under pressure near the 350 Metres, TRAVEL NUMBER ONE did not quicken as he expected and over the final 200 Metres weakened and performed disappointingly. A veterinary inspection of TRAVEL NUMBER ONE immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. After the race, C Y Ho reported that ORACLE did not feel completely comfortable in its action. A veterinary inspection of ORACLE immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. A veterinary inspection of STRATHEARN immediately following the race found that horse to have sustained a small cut to the left front leg. HAPPY AGILITY, GLACIER BLUE and DANEWIN EXPRESS were sent for sampling.