07/02/2018  Happy Valley  Race 6

ALCAZAR was withdrawn on 6.2.18 by order of the Stewards acting on veterinary advice (stiff neck) and was replaced by Standby Declared Starter GOOD CHOICE AHEAD (K C Leung). Before being allowed to race again, ALCAZAR will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. AUTUMN GOLD began awkwardly. Shortly after the start, VARA PEARL and CLEAR CHOICE raced in restricted room between SMART BABY and HIGH VOLATILITY which shifted out. GREAT TREASURE and WONDERFUL TIGER were steadied in the early stages and shifted across behind runners. From the outside barrier, ENORMOUS HONOUR was also shifted across behind runners in the early stages to obtain cover. Approaching the 1500 Metres, WONDERFUL TIGER, which was racing ungenerously, got its head up when steadied away from the heels of ENORMOUS HONOUR (N Rawiller) which shifted in when not properly clear. Whilst the Stewards accepted that the racing manners of WONDERFUL TIGER, which continued to race ungenerously at various stages throughout the race, had exacerbated the incident, nonetheless N Rawiller was reprimanded and advised to ensure that he is properly clear when shifting ground in similar circumstances. Approaching the 1300 Metres, VARA PEARL and CLEAR CHOICE raced tight inside GENTRY. For some distance after the 1200 Metres, WONDERFUL TIGER proved very difficult to settle and got its head up on a number of occasions. In the early part of the Straight, VARA PEARL was awkwardly placed close to the heels of GOOD CHOICE AHEAD when being shifted to the outside of that horse. Passing the 150 Metres, CONTRIBUTION shifted in and bumped CLEAR CHOICE. CONTRIBUTION then continued to lay in for the remainder of the race and proved very difficult to ride. Over the concluding stages, VARA PEARL raced tight inside SMART BABY which shifted in. When questioned, Apprentice H T Mo stated that he was instructed by Mr A S Cruz, the trainer of CONTRIBUTION, to lead the race if possible. He said it was felt that HIGH VOLATILITY was the only other horse which had speed sufficient to lead the race and it was felt that CONTRIBUTION would be able to obtain a forward position. He said he was further instructed that if the rider of HIGH VOLATILITY was intent on leading, it was acceptable for him to race outside that horse. He also added that he was instructed not to be overly aggressive on CONTRIBUTION in the early stages as the horse had previously shown an inclination to prove difficult to settle after being hard ridden. He said CONTRIBUTION did not begin well and shifted out at the start, resulting in the horse losing ground. He said he pushed CONTRIBUTION along in the early stages but felt that he would have had to be very aggressive on the horse to obtain a forward position and this would have been contrary to Mr Cruz’s instruction. He said therefore, rather than making use of CONTRIBUTION in an attempt to obtain a forward position, he elected to steady the horse approaching the winning post on the first occasion and obtain cover which resulted in the horse racing further back in the field than had been intended. When questioned regarding the performance of GOOD CHOICE AHEAD, K C Leung stated that it was felt that there were only two pace influences engaged in the race, those being HIGH VOLATILITY and CONTRIBUTION and therefore there was an opportunity for GOOD CHOICE AHEAD to be ridden more prominently than had been the case due to a lack of any real speed apart from those two horses. He said he was asked to position GOOD CHOICE AHEAD with cover behind the leaders if possible to take advantage of the anticipated slow tempo. He said after riding his mount along in the early stages, GOOD CHOICE AHEAD was left racing wide approaching the winning post on the first occasion and when CONTRIBUTION did not take up a forward position, GOOD CHOICE AHEAD was left without cover outside the leader HIGH VOLATILITY. He said whilst GOOD CHOICE AHEAD did not travel keenly when racing outside the leader, he was of the opinion that the horse did not appreciate racing without cover as it came under heavy pressure after the 500 Metres and then weakened out of the race in the Straight. He added that after the race he recommended to connections that GOOD CHOICE AHEAD be ridden more conservatively to provide the horse with the opportunity to finish off its race. Mr L Ho, the trainer of GOOD CHOICE AHEAD, will be questioned regarding the instructions provided to Jockey Leung prior to the first race at the Sha Tin racemeeting on Saturday, 10 February 2018. A veterinary inspection of GOOD CHOICE AHEAD immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. A veterinary inspection of AUTUMN GOLD immediately following the race did not show any significant findings, however, the horse was unable to be scoped due to being fractious. HIGH VOLATILITY and GENTRY were sent for sampling. <10/2/2018 7 February 2018 Happy Valley Racemeeting – Race 6 (406)>The Stewards today questioned Trainer L Ho regarding the instructions given to K C Leung, the rider of GOOD CHOICE AHEAD in this race. Mr Ho stated that at its prior start on 10 January 2018, K Teetan had informed him that he believed that GOOD CHOICE AHEAD would benefit from blinkers being added to the horse’s gear in order for it to focus better. He said Jockey Teetan had mentioned at its last start the horse had taken some time to respond to his riding in the Straight but then had finished off the race well. Mr Ho said it was felt that the addition of blinkers would assist the horse in being able to finish off the race stronger. He said in this race it was felt that there was a lack of genuine speed and with the blinkers reapplied, it was hoped that GOOD CHOICE AHEAD would be able to obtain a position with cover behind the likely leaders of the race. He said however that due to the circumstances of the race GOOD CHOICE AHEAD had been left racing without cover and had travelled too strongly with the blinkers reapplied. He said he felt that for this reason the horse was then not able to finish off the race. He added since the race he had formed the view that GOOD CHOICE AHEAD is not suited to wearing blinkers and therefore he will apply to remove the blinkers from the horse at its next race start. He said it is still hoped that the horse will be able to obtain a forward position, however, to obtain cover so as to allow it to finish off the race as best as it is able.