21/09/2019  Shatin  Race 9

After being loaded into the barriers, HOLY HEART, which was having its first race start in Hong Kong today, reared on a number of occasions and then momentarily sat down. HOLY HEART was removed from the barriers and examined by the Veterinary Officer who said in his opinion it was suitable to race. Before being allowed to race again, HOLY HEART will be required to perform satisfactorily in a stalls test. As the start was effected, HARBOUR ALERT put its head down and consequently lost a significant amount of ground. Before being allowed to race again, HARBOUR ALERT will be required to perform satisfactorily in a stalls test. HOLY HEART and TRIUMPHANT ARCH bumped at the start. Then despite being ridden along, TRIUMPHANT ARCH was slow to muster speed. From a wide barrier, GOLDIE FLANKER was shifted across behind runners in the early stages. After travelling a short distance, TRIUMPHANT ARCH, which shifted in, bumped HOLY HEART which was taken out marginally by UTOPIA LIFE. This resulted in both HOLY HEART and TRIUMPHANT ARCH becoming unbalanced and HOLY HEART being steadied when crowded for room between TRIUMPHANT ARCH and UTOPIA LIFE. Throughout the race, INFINITY ENDEAVOUR travelled wide and without cover. When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of SIMPLY BIG, Apprentice K H Chan stated that he was asked to ride the horse aggressively to take up a forward position as the earlier races conducted on the All Weather surface appeared to be favouring horses ridden up on the speed. He said in accordance with his instructions he rode SIMPLY BIG along and he had to make considerable use of the horse in order to take up as forward a position as possible. He said it was not until approaching the 800 Metres that he was able to clear UTOPIA LIFE to race outside WINNER SUPREME. He said, in his opinion, SIMPLY BIG was then not able to finish off the race due to the amount of work he had to make of the horse to obtain a prominent position. A veterinary inspection of SIMPLY BIG immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. A veterinary inspection of HOLY HEART immediately following the race did not show any significant findings, however, an endoscopic examination was not able to be properly conducted due to the horse being fractious. WINNER SUPREME and UTOPIA LIFE were sent for sampling.