02/06/2019  Shatin  Race 6

FOODIE PRINCESS shifted in at the start and bumped SPEEDY DRAGON. JOYFUL HEART was bumped on jumping by DIGITAL TRIUMPH which began awkwardly and shifted in abruptly. VOYAGE STAR shifted in at the start and bumped heavily with MERIDIAN GENIUS, causing VOYAGE STAR to become badly unbalanced. From wide barriers, MERIDIAN GENIUS, BREEZE OF SPRING, LUCKY GUY and NATURAL FLARE were all shifted across behind runners in the early stages. Approaching the 1100 Metres, TIGERLAD was awkwardly placed close to the heels of MAGIC SUCCESS. Near the 1050 Metres, BEAUTY APPLAUSE shifted out and bumped MAGIC SUCCESS. Passing the 1000 Metres, FOODIE PRINCESS was momentarily awkwardly placed inside the heels of TIGERLAD which shifted in when awkwardly placed close to the heels of SPEEDY DRAGON. BREEZE OF SPRING, which was following FOODIE PRINCESS, was shifted out abruptly away from the heels of that horse approaching the 900 Metres and inconvenienced LUCKY GUY which was travelling keenly. When travelling keenly, DIGITAL TRIUMPH made the turn after the 900 Metres awkwardly and shifted out away from the heels of VOYAGE STAR. Approaching the 850 Metres, JOYFUL HEART was awkwardly placed close to the heels of TIGERLAD. Near the 250 Metres, FOODIE PRINCESS shifted out and bumped TIGERLAD. Passing the 200 Metres, BREEZE OF SPRING raced tight inside TATTENHALL FORTUNE which shifted in. BREEZE OF SPRING was then held up for clear running until over the concluding stages at which time the horse was shifted to the outside of SPEEDY DRAGON, resulting in TATTENHALL FORTUNE being steadied away from the heels of BREEZE OF SPRING. Throughout the race, VOYAGE STAR travelled wide and without cover. When questioned, A Domeyer stated that he was instructed to obtain a midfield position with cover on MERIDIAN GENIUS from a wide barrier if possible. He said it was felt that MERIDIAN GENIUS would have to do too much work to cross runners to its inside and consequently would not be able to finish off the race if it were to be ridden in a forward position. He said after shifting in to race just worse than midfield making the first turn, he was left racing very wide near the 900 Metres and he therefore steadied MERIDIAN GENIUS to shift in to race behind DIGITAL TRIUMPH so as to ensure that the horse did not race unnecessarily wide. He said this resulted in MERIDIAN GENIUS being further back in the field than had been intended. He said at the entrance to the Straight he shifted MERIDIAN GENIUS to the outside of runners to obtain clear running and MERIDIAN GENIUS commenced to hang out. He added MERIDIAN GENIUS continued to lay out under pressure for the remainder of the race, however, over the final 200 Metres did not hang out as noticeably as it did earlier in the Straight. He said MERIDIAN GENIUS finished off the race well after having to race further back in the field than had been anticipated. After the race, K Teetan reported that JOYFUL HEART did not travel well at any stage of the race and then did not let down when asked in the Straight. A veterinary inspection of JOYFUL HEART 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 DIGITAL TRIUMPH immediately following the race found that horse to have sustained an overreach wound to the inside of the right front heel. BEAUTY APPLAUSE, MAGIC SUCCESS and LIGHTNING TREASURE were sent for sampling. <3/6/2019 Additional Veterinary Report>DIGITAL TRIUMPH, which performed poorly, was examined by the Veterinary Officer who said at that time the horse had sustained an overreach wound to the inside of the right front heel. DIGITAL TRIUMPH was again examined by the Veterinary Officer at the stables of Trainer K H Ting this morning. He said at this time he noted the horse to be lame in its right front leg. Before being allowed to race again, DIGITAL TRIUMPH will be subjected to an official veterinary examination.