25/11/2018  Shatin  Race 1

PEGASUS ELITE began very awkwardly and shifted in abruptly, resulting in GUERDON HELMET being heavily bumped and taken in onto JIMSON THE DRAGON. WHAT A LEGEND began awkwardly and lost ground. JOY MASTER, which was fractious in the barriers, turned its head to the right as the start was effected and consequently began only fairly. MULTIMILLION shifted out at the start and bumped EXCEL DELIGHT which began awkwardly. Shortly after the start, LIGHTNING TREASURE was steadied away from the heels of LUCKY LUCKY (Apprentice H T Mo) which shifted out after being brushed by STAR SUPERIOR. Apprentice Mo was advised that he would be expected to make a greater effort to prevent his mounts from shifting ground in similar circumstances. Passing the 300 Metres, JOY MASTER, which was commencing to close off the race, was shifted to the inside of COURAGEOUS DRAGON to obtain clear running. Passing the 200 Metres, COURAGEOUS DRAGON was steadied when momentarily crowded between BESTA LUCK and BUMBLE BABY which got its head on the side and lay out. Passing the 100 Metres, STAR SUPERIOR was inconvenienced by JOY MASTER which shifted to the inside of JIMSON THE DRAGON to continue improving when closing off the race. At the same stage, LIGHTNING TREASURE was awkwardly placed outside the heels of WHAT A LEGEND which shifted out. WHAT A LEGEND then continued to shift out under pressure over the concluding stages, resulting in its rider having to stop riding and straighten his mount close to the finishing line. When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of EXCEL DELIGHT, Z Purton stated that the horse, which was having its first race start, raced greenly and lay out for most of the race when racing outside BESTA LUCK. He said EXCEL DELIGHT did not travel comfortably at any stage of the race and over the final 300 Metres gave ground noticeably. He added EXCEL DELIGHT is inexperienced and should benefit from more racing. A veterinary inspection of EXCEL DELIGHT immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. After the race, D Whyte was not able to offer any explanation for the disappointing performance of BUMBLE BABY. He said the horse travelled satisfactorily but did not finish off the race over the latter stages. A veterinary inspection of BUMBLE BABY immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. MULTIMILLION and WHAT A LEGEND were sent for sampling.