22/05/2016  Shatin  Race 11

At declaration time, D Whyte was declared as the rider of both VERBINSKY and JOY LUCK WIN. It was established that D Whyte had a firm commitment to ride JOY LUCK WIN. As such, the Stewards permitted N Callan to be substituted as the rider of VERBINSKY. For this declaration error, Trainer A S Cruz was fined $2,000. GREEN CARD began awkwardly and shortly after the start lost ground when awkwardly placed close to the heels of DILLY. THE SHOW lost its right front plate at the start. Shortly after the start, NUMERO UNO was inconvenienced and WINSTON’S LAD was steadied when crowded for room between JOLLY BANNER and VICTORY DAY which, after being bumped by DILLY on jumping, then got it head on the side and shifted away from DILLY. VICTORY DAY then raced tight inside DILLY as WINSTON’S LAD was being steadied. In the circumstances, no further action was taken. Despite being ridden along in the early stages, THE SHOW failed to muster speed. From the outside barrier, JOY LUCK WIN was steadied in the early stages and shifted across behind runners. Approaching the 900 Metres, GREEN CARD was left racing wide and without cover. After being crossed by VERBINSKY near the 900 Metres, DILLY proved very difficult to settle and near the 700 Metres shifted out abruptly away from the heels of VERBINSKY, resulting in GREEN CARD being hampered and taken wider. THE SHOW and LUCKY PROFIT, which were following GREEN CARD, were also hampered and taken wider in this incident. After this, GREEN CARD continued to race wide and without cover whilst THE SHOW was also required to race wide and without cover. Passing the 350 Metres, JOLLY BANNER and DILLY bumped as JOLLY BANNER shifted out into clear running. After the 200 Metres, THE SHOW got its head on the side and lay in under pressure. When questioned, B Prebble stated that he had ridden WINSTON’S LAD in track work in the lead up to today’s race and that work had only been fair. He said he was asked to ride WINSTON’S LAD quietly so as to provide the horse with the opportunity to close off the race. He said after being hampered shortly after the start, he rode his mount along after the 1200 Metres in an endeavour to obtain a closer position if possible. He said WINSTON’S LAD travelled satisfactorily in the run and at the top of the Straight he shifted the horse to the outside of runners to finish off the race. He added after placing WINSTON’S LAD under pressure, the horse closed off well, however, in his opinion, did not feel completely comfortable in its action. H Bowman stated that whilst GREEN CARD was disappointing in its failure to finish off the race, the horse had legitimate excuses after being obliged to race wide throughout the race and then being badly hampered near the 700 Metres. A veterinary inspection of GREEN CARD immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. When questioned, Z Purton (VICTORY DAY) stated that his mount proved very difficult to settle when racing in the lead. He said, despite his efforts to have the horse relax, VICTORY DAY continued to travel keenly and because of this, shortly after entering the Straight, commenced to give ground abruptly. A veterinary inspection of VICTORY DAY immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. The performance of VICTORY DAY, which finished a distant last, was considered unacceptable. Before being allowed to race again, VICTORY DAY will be required to perform to the satisfaction of the Stewards in a barrier trial and be subjected to an official veterinary examination. A veterinary inspection of LUCKY PROFIT immediately following the race confirmed the horse to be a “roarer” which had previously been reported. MY DARLING and SICHUAN DAR were sent for sampling.