20/01/2019  Shatin  Race 1

ENJOY LIFE shifted out at the start and bumped WIN WIN which became badly unbalanced. WIN WIN then shifted in, resulting in ENJOY LIFE being crowded for room. PICKEN shifted in at the start and bumped GUY DRAGON which in turn shifted in and made contact with BIG BULLY. EMPIRE STAR and BLIZZING AWAY began only fairly. From a wide barrier, SAM’S LOVE was steadied in the early stages and shifted across behind runners. Passing the 1300 Metres, WIN WIN momentarily raced tight between SUREWIN and DESTIN (S Clipperton) which shifted in. S Clipperton was advised to exercise more care. Approaching the 1200 Metres, SUREWIN was momentarily awkwardly placed close to the heels of DESTIN which shifted in when not quite clear. In this incident, SUREWIN shifted in and bumped BLIZZING AWAY. S Clipperton was advised to exercise more care when shifting ground in similar circumstances. Passing the 1000 Metres, WIN WIN was steadied away from the heels of BLIZZING AWAY. Then after the 1000 Metres, BLIZZING AWAY commenced to prove difficult to settle and got its head up when being steadied away from the heels of DESTIN. Passing the 900 Metres, WICKER improved into tight running inside BLIZZING AWAY which was travelling keenly. Near the 800 Metres, BIG BULLY was checked when crowded for room inside WICKER which improved to be racing inside the heels of BLIZZING AWAY which, after initially shifting out when travelling keenly and awkwardly placed closed to the heels of DESTIN, then shifted in when racing tight inside SUREWIN. As the Stewards were satisfied that the racing manners of BLIZZING AWAY and the circumstances of the race had resulted in this incident rather than any carelessness exhibited by any rider, no further action was taken. Passing the 400 Metres, KHAKI was bumped and taken wider by ENJOY LIFE which shifted to the outside of GUY DRAGON to obtain clear running. At the entrance to the Straight, BLIZZING AWAY and WIN WIN raced tight between SUREWIN which was giving ground and EMPIRE STAR which was racing tight outside the heels of RULETHEROOST which shifted out marginally. Close to the finishing line, EMPIRE STAR was shifted out away from the heels of PICKEN which drifted out under pressure. For the majority of the race, SUREWIN travelled wide and without cover. When questioned, S de Sousa (KHAKI) stated that, from the outside barrier, he was asked to attempt to obtain a forward position on the horse, however, if KHAKI did not show sufficient speed, then he should shift the horse across behind runners and obtain cover. He said after riding his mount positively in the early stages, KHAKI did not show sufficient speed to take up a forward position and therefore he steadied the horse after the 1300 Metres and obtained cover towards the rear of the field. After the race, an endoscopic examination was conducted on DESTIN at the request of Trainer P O’Sullivan. The Veterinary Surgeon reported that this examination showed a substantial amount of blood in the horse's trachea. Before being allowed to race again, DESTIN will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. A veterinary inspection of KHAKI immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. CARE FREE PRINCE and PICKEN were sent for sampling.