06/01/2019  Shatin  Race 3

WISHFUL THINKER lifted its front feet off the ground as the start was effected, began awkwardly and then was bumped by JOLLY BANNER which shifted out. STYLING CITY and FABULOUS ONE bumped at the start. Approaching the 300 Metres, WISHFUL THINKER was steadied when disappointed for running to the outside of IVICTORY which shifted out marginally. WISHFUL THINKER was then badly held up for clear running until approaching the 100 Metres at which time the horse shifted in and bumped FABULOUS ONE. Approaching the 200 Metres, JOLLY BANNER (M F Poon) improved quickly to be racing close to the heels of JUMBO LUCK. Then at the 200 Metres, JOLLY BANNER shifted in away from the heels of JUMBO LUCK and bumped STYLING CITY, resulting in both horses and in particular JOLLY BANNER becoming unbalanced. M F Poon was advised that whilst there were some circumstances to this incident, primarily the manner in which JOLLY BANNER improved quickly to be racing close to the heels of JUMBO LUCK, nonetheless in similar circumstances he was advised to exercise more care so as not to place undue pressure on other runners. After the race, J Moreira stated that IVICTORY was again disappointing in today’s race as the horse did not finish off as expected. A veterinary inspection of IVICTORY immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. When questioned regarding the improved performance of JOLLY BANNER, Trainer P F Yiu stated that he had been disappointed with the horse’s recent starts. He said because of this he elected to drop JOLLY BANNER back in distance to 1000 Metres of today’s race with the conditions resulting in JOLLY BANNER carrying a very light weight. He said with the light weight he anticipated that the horse may be able to finish off the race, however, he did not expect that it would be successful in today’s race given its recent form. A veterinary inspection of JUMBO LUCK immediately following the race found that horse to have bled from both nostrils. IVICTORY, JOLLY BANNER and STYLING CITY were sent for sampling.