29/10/2017  Happy Valley  Race 9

From wide barriers, CHATER LEGEND, SICHUAN DAR and GONNA RUN were all shifted across behind runners in the early stages. Passing the 1100 Metres, SICHUAN DAR got its head up when proving difficult to settle and awkwardly placed close to the heels of FAITHFUL TRINITY. Near the 150 Metres, STAR MAJESTIC was shifted to the outside of LITTERATEUR after being disappointed for running between that horse and CHATER LEGEND which shifted out. When questioned, D Whyte (LITTERATEUR) stated that in the run to the winning post on the first occasion he attempted to obtain a trailing position towards the rear of the field, however, passing the winning post on the first occasion LITTERATEUR commenced to prove very difficult to settle and when SPEEDY LONGWAH was steadied by its rider in an attempt to obtain cover, he was unable to shift LITTERATEUR in to obtain cover behind that horse due to the manner in which LITTERATEUR was racing and the fact that SPEEDY LONGWAH was coming back towards LITTERATEUR. He said, despite his best efforts, he was unable to get LITTERATEUR to steady sufficiently to obtain cover behind SPEEDY LONGWAH which resulted in LITTERATEUR racing wide and without cover. He said after the 1200 Metres he continued to try and have LITTERATEUR settled to obtain cover, however, the horse continued to prove very difficult to restrain and he felt that LITTERATEUR’s best interests would be better served by allowing the horse to improve its position in the field rather than continuing to fight against the horse towards the rear of the field. He added for this reason he allowed LITTERATEUR to improve its position after the 1000 Metres, however, LITTERATEUR continued to race wide and without cover for the remainder of the race. When questioned, N Rawiller stated that he had ridden SPEEDY LONGWAH in a barrier trial on the All Weather Track in the lead up to this race and the horse had begun exceptionally well, led the trial and performed well. He said because SPEEDY LONGWAH had performed well when ridden in a forward position in the trial, he was asked today to ride SPEEDY LONGWAH in a forward position and accordingly he rode his mount positively in the early stages. He said after riding SPEEDY LONGWAH hard, the horse did not show any early speed and was unable to improve its position forward of PERPETUAL JOYANCE which was drawn immediately to the inside of SPEEDY LONGWAH. He said because SPEEDY LONGWAH showed no early speed, he commenced to shift his mount across behind runners approaching the winning post on the first occasion and was left racing in a three wide position outside FAITHFUL TRINITY. He said he attempted to steady his mount to obtain cover behind that horse as SPEEDY LONGWAH was racing in a three wide position, however, SICHUAN DAR was ridden along to improve its position inside SPEEDY LONGWAH and his mount was therefore left racing wide and without cover in the early stages. He added SPEEDY LONGWAH was not comfortable on today’s surface and appeared to him to "jar up” as the horse did not stretch out as it did when he had ridden it in the barrier trial. He said because of the manner in which SPEEDY LONGWAH was travelling, the horse became detached from the field along the Back Straight. He said whilst the horse made up some ground in the early part of the Straight, SPEEDY LONGWAH did not stretch out and remained at the rear of the field. A veterinary inspection of SPEEDY LONGWAH immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. A veterinary inspection of STAR MAJESTIC immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. STAR MAJESTIC, THE GOLDEN AGE and SICHUAN DAR were sent for sampling.