10/07/2016  Shatin  Race 5

TEAM SWEET began only fairly. From wide barriers, SUPER SWEET ORANGE and CALIFORNIA CHERISH were shifted across behind runners in the early stages. Despite being hard ridden in the early stages, JOY PLUS FUN took some time to muster speed. Approaching the 1200 Metres, A BEAUTIFUL raced in restricted room inside DESCENDANT. When DESCENDANT was shifted out to relieve the tightening to A BEAUTIFUL, FOREVER ACCURATE was inconvenienced. Approaching the 1000 Metres, A BEAUTIFUL got its head up when racing in restricted room inside DESCENDANT. After the 800 Metres, A BEAUTIFUL, which was laying out, continued to race tight inside DESCENDANT. Near the 900 Metres, SUPER SWEET ORANGE got its head up and was reluctant to maintain its position when racing in restricted room inside BABA MAMA which was racing tight inside HAPPY AND HEALTHY. HAPPY AND HEALTHY was left racing wide and without cover after the 800 Metres. In the early part of the Straight, A BEAUTIFUL raced with its head on the side and lay out. HAPPY AND HEALTHY lost its right hind plate after the 350 Metres. Approaching the 300 Metres, SUPER SWEET ORANGE was shifted in abruptly away from the heels of DESCENDANT which was giving ground. Passing the 300 Metres, JOY PLUS FUN shifted out away from BABA MAMA which was shifting out to obtain clear running and was steadied away from the heels of HAPPY AND HEALTHY which shifted in marginally. Passing the 200 Metres, FOREVER ACCURATE was eased away from the heels of A BEAUTIFUL which continued to lay out under pressure. Passing the 150 Metres, A BEAUTIFUL was steadied away from the heels of TEAM SWEET (J Moreira) which shifted out under pressure. J Moreira was reprimanded. After the race, B Prebble said that despite being ridden along for a considerable distance, GLACIER BLUE did not muster speed and, in his opinion, did not feel comfortable in its action. A veterinary inspection of GLACIER BLUE immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of NAMJONG INVINCIBLE, Z Purton stated that his mount sweated up badly prior to the race and was more agitated than it had been prior to its races in the past. He said although the race was run at a good tempo in the early stages, NAMJONG INVINCIBLE did not show as much early speed as he anticipated and consequently was obliged to race further back than had been intended. He said NAMJONG INVINCIBLE did not travel comfortably at any stage and, despite having clear running in the Straight, did not quicken and was disappointing. He added NAMJONG INVINCIBLE raced like a tired horse in today’s race. A veterinary inspection of NAMJONG INVINCIBLE immediately following the race did not show any significant findings, however, the horse was unable to be scoped due to being fractious. A veterinary inspection of DESCENDANT and JOY PLUS FUN immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. NAMJONG INVINCIBLE, BABA MAMA and WINNING BOY were sent for sampling.