02/12/2018  Shatin  Race 4

JIMSON THE FAMOUS began only fairly. GREAT SON shifted out at the start and inconvenienced ROYAL PREROGATIVE. From wide barriers, PERFECT CHOICE and CORRE RAPIDO were shifted across behind runners in the early stages. Passing the 250 Metres, MASSIVE MOVE was awkwardly placed outside GREAT SON which shifted to the outside of RICHCITY FORTUNE. When questioned regarding the performance of DRAGON WARRIOR, D Whyte stated that at its last start when the horse raced well, it did not face any kickback as it was not required to race behind runners for the majority of the race. He said today DRAGON WARRIOR was always behind runners after failing to show any early speed. He said DRAGON WARRIOR became unbalanced shortly after the start when bumped by MASSIVE MOVE, but, in his opinion, this would not account for the horse’s lack of early speed. He said he had to ride DRAGON WARRIOR along throughout the race and it was not until the horse was able to be shifted to the outside of runners at the entrance to the Straight that it commenced to travel better. He added over the concluding stages, when out of the kickback, DRAGON WARRIOR then finished off the race satisfactorily. A veterinary inspection of DRAGON WARRIOR immediately following the race did not show any significant findings, however, the horse was unable to be scoped due to being fractious. A veterinary inspection of BEST RUNNER 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, BEST RUNNER will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. A veterinary inspection of MASSIVE MOVE and PERFECT CHOICE immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. DRAGON WARRIOR, EVER STRONG and JIMSON THE FAMOUS were sent for sampling.