18/09/2016  Shatin  Race 4

BEAR CHUM, which was fractious in the barriers, began only fairly and then was bumped by GRACYDAD which shifted out. MASSIVE MOVE shifted out at the start and bumped the hindquarters of GLORY HORSIE. LONDON MASTER and HAPPY SOUND bumped on jumping. After passing the 600 Metres, EMPIRE OF MONGOLIA lost ground when reluctant to hold its position due to tightening between TEN SPEED and LONDON MASTER which shifted out away from BEAR CHUM. When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of BEAR CHUM, K Teetan stated it had been anticipated that whilst BEAR CHUM would be suited by races over a longer distance than today’s event, the horse would nonetheless be able to show sufficient early speed to obtain a forward position. He said it was also anticipated that LONDON MASTER and HAPPY SOUND, which were drawn immediately outside BEAR CHUM, would obtain leading positions and therefore he was asked to obtain a position with cover behind those horses. He said LONDON MASTER did not show the anticipated early speed and for this reason BEAR CHUM was left racing without cover in the early stages. He said after the 900 Metres BEAR CHUM was struggling to keep pace with the tempo of the race and he had to niggle at the horse in an endeavour to maintain as forward a position as possible. He said BEAR CHUM was not able to travel on the bridle and was always under pressure. He added, due to the quick early tempo of the race, he anticipated that BEAR CHUM might be able to close off the race well, however, although the horse stayed on one-paced in the run to the line, in his opinion, BEAR CHUM’s finishing effort was disappointing in the circumstances. He did say that, in his opinion, BEAR CHUM would be suited by stepping up in distance in its future races. A veterinary inspection of BEAR CHUM immediately following the race did not show any significant findings, however, the horse was unable to be scoped due to being fractious. When questioned regarding the performance of WONDERFUL CHASER, Z Purton stated that at its only race around a turn last season, WONDERFUL CHASER was disappointing and that the horse had again been disappointing in its barrier trial around a turn in the lead up to today’s race. He said in that trial the horse had obtained a good position, however, gave ground rounding the Home Turn which he attributed at the time to the horse not being comfortable going around bends. He said although connections of WONDERFUL CHASER believed that the horse would be suited by a longer distance than the 1000 Metres of today’s race, due to the manner in which it had performed last season and again in the trial, it was decided to run WONDERFUL CHASER on the straight course as this would provide the horse with the best opportunity to finish off the race. He added WONDERFUL CHASER began only fairly and he had to ride the horse aggressively in the early stages in an endeavour to obtain as forward a position as possible. He said WONDERFUL CHASER did not appreciate the strong tempo of the race and was always under pressure to maintain its position. He said, despite being hard ridden throughout the race, WONDERFUL CHASER did not close off the race and disappointed him as it finished off the race only one-paced. A veterinary inspection of WONDERFUL CHASER immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. A veterinary inspection of GRACYDAD immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. BEAR CHUM, HAPPY SOUND and TEN SPEED were sent for sampling.