09/06/2016  Happy Valley  Race 8

BEAUTY PRINCE was withdrawn on 6.6.16 by order of the Stewards acting on veterinary advice (lame left hind) and was replaced by Standby Declared Starter CHARITY GLORY. Before being allowed to race again, BEAUTY PRINCE will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. MARVEL HERO, which was fractious in the barriers, began awkwardly. INDUSTRIALIST WAY shifted out at the start and bumped TOM'S CHARM which in turn shifted out and hampered TEN FLAMES, resulting in TOM'S CHARM and TEN FLAMES becoming unbalanced. TOM'S CHARM was then shifted across behind runners in the early stages. From the outside barrier, JOLLY GENE was ridden along in the early stages, however, failed to muster speed and approaching the winning post on the first occasion was then shifted across behind runners to obtain a position closer to the rail. Approaching the 1400 Metres, KING OF MONGOLIA and PIKACHU raced tight inside INDUSTRIALIST WAY. Approaching the 900 Metres, EXPEDITE commenced to travel strongly and shifted out marginally when awkwardly placed close to the heels of KING OF MONGOLIA. In doing so, EXPEDITE bumped REGENCY KING, resulting in that horse being hampered and taken wider. Then passing the 900 Metres, EXPEDITE was shifted back in behind KING OF MONGOLIA and near the 850 Metres struck the heels of that horse and blundered badly, resulting in its rider, K Teetan, almost being dislodged. JOLLY GENE, which was following, was checked away from the heels of EXPEDITE in consequence. As there was no rider error involved in this incident, no further action was taken. During this incident, KING OF MONGOLIA lost its right hind plate. Rounding the Home Turn, PIKACHU improved into tight running between CHARITY GLORY and TEN FLAMES. Passing the 300 Metres, REGENCY KING was steadied away from the heels of KING OF MONGOLIA (N Rawiller) which shifted out. N Rawiller was reprimanded and advised to exercise more care when shifting ground in similar circumstances. Also passing the 300 Metres, MARVEL HERO was shifted in away from the heels of CHARITY GLORY to obtain clear running. Near the 250 Metres, MARVEL HERO raced in restricted room inside CHARITY GLORY which was racing tight inside PIKACHU. Passing the 200 Metres, KING OF MONGOLIA momentarily raced in restricted room between SUPER FLUKE and INDUSTRIALIST WAY. When questioned, Apprentice K K Chiong stated that she had been instructed to ride SUPER FLUKE in about a midfield position. She said in the early stages she attempted to obtain a trailing position behind KING OF MONGOLIA and in advance of EXPEDITE, however, was unable to obtain this position as EXPEDITE maintained its position to the inside of SUPER FLUKE which obliged SUPER FLUKE to race wide and without cover after passing the winning post on the first occasion. She stated that although the tempo of the race slackened noticeably after the 1200 Metres, she was reluctant to allow her mount to improve at this time due to her instructions and the fact that SUPER FLUKE was travelling comfortably. She added passing the 800 Metres she commenced to improve her position on SUPER FLUKE in an endeavour to prevent INDUSTRIALIST WAY, which was racing to the inside of SUPER FLUKE, from being able to shift out, however, that horse was able to shift out away from the heels of TEN FLAMES after the 600 Metres which resulted in SUPER FLUKE being taken wider. Apprentice Chiong was advised that, in the opinion of the Stewards, she should have made more of an endeavour after the 800 Metres to ride her mount forward of INDUSTRIALIST WAY so as to prevent that horse from being able to shift out and also prevent SUPER FLUKE from being taken unnecessarily wide. When questioned, B Prebble stated that he had been asked to ride REGENCY KING where it was comfortable. He said in the early stages he allowed REGENCY KING to obtain a forward position, however, the horse did not show early speed and consequently he shifted it across behind runners. After the race, the Veterinary Officer reported that KING OF MONGOLIA had sustained a cut to the right hind heel. Also after the race, an endoscopic examination was conducted on CHARITY GLORY at the request of Trainer C S Shum. The Veterinary Surgeon reported that this examination confirmed the horse to be a "roarer". A veterinary inspection of EXPEDITE immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. TOM'S CHARM, INDUSTRIALIST WAY and PIKACHU were sent for sampling.