16/05/2018  Happy Valley  Race 8

On arrival at the Start, D Whyte expressed concern over the action of ROMAN IMPERO. An examination of ROMAN IMPERO conducted by the Veterinary Officer was not able to detect any significant abnormalities. D Whyte notified the Veterinary Officer that he was not comfortable to ride ROMAN IMPERO and accordingly the horse was withdrawn from this race by order of the Stewards. Prior to being permitted to race again, ROMAN IMPERO will be required to perform satisfactorily in a barrier trial and be subjected to an official veterinary examination. Despite being ridden along in the early stages, WALDORF failed to muster speed. From a wide barrier, SKY MELODY was shifted across behind runners in the early stages. Approaching the 1200 Metres, LET’S TAKE IT EASY was left racing wide and without cover and continued to race without cover until approaching the 600 Metres. Near the 900 Metres, HAPPY SPIRIT was steadied when awkwardly placed inside the heels of OUTLAWED. Making the turn near the 550 Metres, RULE THEE was reluctant to hold its position when racing in restricted room between RAZOR QUEST and LET’S TAKE IT EASY. Soon after straightening, SILVERFIELD was directed to the outside of the heels of LET’S TAKE IT EASY to obtain clear running. Passing the 200 Metres, RULE THEE was awkwardly placed to the outside of SILVERFIELD which shifted out when placed under pressure. When questioned of his riding of SKY MELODY from the 500 Metres, M L Yeung stated that although the horse travelled reasonably well throughout the early and middle stages, it dropped the bit approaching the 600 Metres which required him to slap the horse down the shoulder to have it travel better. He said SKY MELODY picked up the bit and commenced to improve nearer to the heels of RULE THEE, however, SKY MELODY again came off the bridle at the 400 Metres which required him to ride the horse along to have it maintain its position behind RULE THEE which was commencing to shift out to improve. He said as he had not ridden SKY MELODY previously, he gained the impression that the horse would offer limited response when placed under pressure in the Straight and as RULE THEE was shifting out around the heels of LET’S TAKE IT EASY at the entrance to the Straight, he felt that to have shifted to the outside of that runner would have been to the detriment of SKY MELODY’s chances given the manner in which it was travelling. He said he therefore elected to maintain its position behind SILVERFIELD, save ground and then improve closer to the inside in the Home Straight. He said after maintaining the position behind SILVERFIELD in the early part of the Straight, he shifted to the inside of that horse approaching the 200 Metres at which stage SKY MELODY commenced to offer some response and close off the race. He said after being unable to improve between LET’S TAKE IT EASY and SILVERFIELD which shifted in near the 100 Metres, he consequently shifted SKY MELODY to the outside of SILVERFIELD where upon the horse closed off the race strongly. Jockey Yeung advised that, in retrospect, he would have been better served by bringing SKY MELODY to the outside of RULE THEE rounding the Home Turn, however, at that time the horse was off the bridle and was not travelling well. He was advised that the Stewards would report his evidence, however, they considered that he had erred in not continuing to the outside of RULE THEE rounding the Home Turn and at the entrance to the Straight as this option would have provided SKY MELODY with clear and uninterrupted running at an earlier stage. A veterinary inspection of RAZOR QUEST immediately following the race including an endoscopic examination showed a substantial amount of blood in the horse's trachea. Before being allowed to race again, RAZOR QUEST will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. A veterinary inspection of UNICRON JEWELLERY immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. LET’S TAKE IT EASY, OUTLAWED and SILVERFIELD were sent for sampling.