19/12/2015  Shatin  Race 5

DYNAMIC VOYAGE was withdrawn on 18.12.15 by order of the Stewards acting on veterinary advice (lame left fore) and was replaced by Standby Declared Starter ORACLE (K C Ng). Before being allowed to race again, DYNAMIC VOYAGE will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. GLORY STAR was slow to begin. From wide barriers, ELECTRONIC PHOENIX and UNIQUE JOYOUS were shifted across behind runners in the early stages. After the 1200 Metres, HO LEE HORSE was awkwardly placed close to the heels of HARD BALL GET. Passing the 500 Metres, BORN TO WIN was hampered when awkwardly placed close to the heels of BEAR RAPPER when endeavouring to improve to the outside of that horse. In this incident, ELECTRONIC PHOENIX was bumped by BORN TO WIN and taken wider. At the 400 Metres, BORN TO WIN was again momentarily awkwardly placed outside the heels of BEAR RAPPER. Over the concluding stages, HARD BALL GET and SNOW SLIDER raced tight due to HARD BALL GET shifting in. M L Yeung was fined the sum of $10,000 for breaching Stewards' Instruction 22(3) in that he used his whip to excess on UNIQUE JOYOUS when that horse was clearly out of contention. In assessing penalty, the Stewards took into consideration that Jockey Yeung had previously been penalized in respect of using the whip to excess on horses out of contention. M L Yeung was placed on notice that should he offend again in a similar manner in the near future, the Stewards would give consideration as to whether a monetary penalty is appropriate in the circumstances. After the race, D Whyte was unable to offer any explanation for the disappointing performance of MAGICAL BEAUTY. He said at the 700 Metres he was unable to prevent HARD BALL GET from shifting from a position on the rail to be racing outside SUNNY PEARL which resulted in MAGICAL BEAUTY being taken into a three wide position. He said HARD BALL GET was able to shift out at this time despite him riding MAGICAL BEAUTY vigorously to prevent this from occurring. He said after this he had to ride MAGICAL BEAUTY along and then again was unable to prevent HARD BALL GET from shifting out into a three wide position at the 500 Metres. He added despite being placed under pressure, MAGICAL BEAUTY was very disappointing in the manner in which it failed to respond to his riding and weakened in the Straight. A veterinary inspection of MAGICAL BEAUTY immediately following the race including an endoscopic examination showed a substantial amount of mucopus in the horse's trachea. Mr A S Cruz, the trainer of MAGICAL BEAUTY, stated that the horse had trained on well since its last start and he was of the opinion that the veterinary finding of a substantial amount of mucopus in the horse's trachea following the race accounted for its disappointing performance. A veterinary inspection of SUNNY PEARL immediately following the race revealed that the horse was displaying an irregular heart rhythm. Before being allowed to race again, SUNNY PEARL will be required to perform satisfactorily in a barrier trial and be subjected to an official veterinary examination. HARD BALL GET and SNOW SLIDER were sent for sampling.