09/05/2018  Happy Valley  Race 6

LOTUS STRIKES BACK, which began only fairly, was crowded for room on jumping between FRIENDS OF KA YING and DON’T MISS which shifted in. As the start was effected, GREAT HONOUR lifted its front feet off the ground and consequently lost ground. When being steadied to obtain cover from a wide barrier, BLAZING PARTNERS got its head up on a number of occasions in the early stages. Despite being ridden along in the early stages, SUPER SPRINTER was slow to muster speed and consequently travelled wide and without cover throughout the race. ACCLAIMED LIGHT and FRIENDS OF KA YING raced tight between the 250 Metres and the 200 Metres. Prior to the declaration of weighed-in, D Whyte, the rider of DUKEDOM, made application to the Stewards for the horse to be declared a non-runner on the grounds it was denied a fair start. Evidence was taken from Jockey Whyte, Trainer C H Yip and Mr A Speechley, the Starter. After taking evidence from all parties concerned and after viewing the videos, it was established that after being loaded into the barriers, DUKEDOM, which had a blindfold applied, was fractious. It was further established that after the blindfold was removed, DUKEDOM again became fractious, however, as the start was effected had all four feet on the ground and its head was facing forward. As the start was effected, the starting gate handler, who was assisting DUKEDOM which continued to be fractious, momentarily had hold of the left rein, but this action did not retard DUKEDOM’s ability to begin with the field. As the Stewards were of the opinion that DUKEDOM’s barrier issues had been as a result of the horse being fractious and not due to any external factor, they ruled that the horse had been afforded a fair start and accordingly was declared a runner. Before being allowed to race again, DUKEDOM will be required to perform satisfactorily in a stalls test. A veterinary inspection of DUKEDOM immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. FRIENDS OF KA YING, ACCLAIMED LIGHT and DON’T MISS were sent for sampling.