16/03/2016  Happy Valley  Race 1

At declaration time, B Prebble was declared as the rider of both OCTAL LUCK and KING WINSA. It was established that B Prebble had a firm commitment to ride OCTAL LUCK. As such, the Stewards permitted T H So to be substituted as the rider of KING WINSA. For this declaration error, Trainer W Y So was fined $2,000. After being mounted, OCTAL LUCK became fractious, resulting in B Prebble being dislodged without incident. A FAST ONE, which was fractious in the barriers, began awkwardly and consequently was slow to begin. OCTAL LUCK shifted out at the start and hampered KING WINSA. Shortly after the start, RAY OF GOLD was crowded for room between KING ON EARTH and GIDDY GIDDY which shifted out. After this, RAY OF GOLD and KING ON EARTH were shifted across behind runners from the outside barriers. After the 250 Metres, GLORY BOY was awkwardly placed inside the heels of GIDDY GIDDY. Approaching the 100 Metres, ALL TIMES LUCKY was steadied away from the heels of FOTOGENIC which shifted out. For the majority of the race, OCTAL LUCK travelled wide and without cover. When questioned regarding the improved performance of OCTAL LUCK, Trainer A Lee stated that, in his opinion, the horse had benefited significantly by being down in grade tonight. He said prior to being withdrawn at the barriers at its last intended start on 17 February 2016, the horse had barrier trialed well when ridden by B Prebble who also rode the horse tonight. He said since its last race start on 25 October 2015 he had freshened OCTAL LUCK and removed the blinkers from the horse in the hope that it would be able to settle better. He added the horse had performed well without the blinkers applied in its trials in the lead up to tonight's race. He said having in mind the manner in which OCTAL LUCK finished off the race, he feels that it performs best when fresh and therefore it is his intention to keep its work programme similar to that leading up to this race. Mr Lee was advised that his comments would be reported, however, he was reminded of the obligation to ensure that, wherever possible, horses race in a consistent manner. When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of PERFECT SMART, Z Purton, who was riding the horse for the first time tonight, stated that the horse appeared "timid" when racing amongst other horses. He said he noted that at its last start when successful, PERFECT SMART raced amongst horses, however, in his opinion, it was reluctant to stretch out tonight when racing behind and inside horses on the rail. He said in the Straight PERFECT SMART did not close off the race as he anticipated. A veterinary inspection of PERFECT SMART immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. DOUBLE MASTER OCTAL LUCK and HIGHLAND DRAGON were sent for sampling.