04/03/2020  Happy Valley  Race 6

BEAUTY HAPPY was severely checked and SUPER BULLET badly hampered when crowded for room at the start between JADE FORTUNE which shifted out on jumping and THE WEATHERMAN which shifted in abruptly after becoming badly unbalanced due to contact on the hindquarters from BEAUTY HAPPY. From the outside barrier, SURREALISM was shifted across behind runners in the early stages to obtain cover. Near the 1500 Metres, SUPER BULLET shifted in and bumped JADE FORTUNE. Passing the winning post on the first occasion, SUPER BULLET was awkwardly placed close to the heels of TOTAL POWER. After the 700 Metres, CALIFORNIA ARGENT was taken wider by SOLAR WAI WAI which shifted out from behind THE WEATHERMAN. This resulted in SOLAR WAI WAI and CALIFORNIA ARGENT bumping near the 650 Metres. Making the turn after the 600 Metres, SOLAR WAI WAI (N Callan) improved its position of its own accord to be racing inside the heels of MAGNIFICENT which shifted out marginally. After SOLAR WAI WAI improved to be racing just inside the heels of MAGNIFICENT, that horse resumed its position one horse off the rail, resulting in SOLAR WAI WAI being checked away from the heels of MAGNIFICENT and shifting in, resulting in THE WEATHERMAN being checked when crowded for room. When THE WEATHERMAN was checked, it shifted out, causing JADE FORTUNE to be badly hampered and taken out across the running of SUPER BULLET which was checked. As the Stewards accepted that it was not the intention of N Callan to improve his position inside the heels of MAGNIFICENT and that he had made a reasonable effort to restrain his mount away from the heels of that horse, no further action was taken. After the 400 Metres, THE WEATHERMAN was crowded for room inside JOLLY HONOUR which improved into tight running inside TOTAL POWER. BEAUTY HAPPY, which was following THE WEATHERMAN, was shifted out away from the heels of that horse in consequence. Also after the 400 Metres, CALIFORNIA ARGENT and SOLAR WAI WAI raced tight as SOLAR WAI WAI shifted to the outside of MAGNIFICENT. Near the 100 Metres, BEAUTY HAPPY was shifted in away from the heels of THE HULK to continue improving. Close to the finishing line, SURREALISM raced tight outside the heels of SOLAR WAI WAI. When questioned regarding the performance of THE HULK, Z Purton stated that from a wide barrier he had to make some use of the horse in the early stages to cross runners to his inside and to obtain a position outside the lead near the 1200 Metres. He said he attempted to steady THE HULK after shifting in to race outside THE WEATHERMAN after the 1100 Metres, however, when THE WEATHERMAN was not able to maintain its position to the inside of THE HULK, he allowed his mount to improve its position to obtain the outright lead after the 900 Metres. He said THE HULK travelled only fairly and then came under pressure after the 500 Metres. He added he rode his mount along rounding the Home Turn, however, THE HULK did not respond to his riding and gave ground noticeably in the Straight. He said he was of the opinion that the use that he made of THE HULK in the early and middle stages was the principal reason for the horse’s failure to finish off the race. A veterinary inspection of THE HULK immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. When questioned regarding his riding of HAPPY FORCE, M L Yeung stated that in discussions with the owner and the trainer of HAPPY FORCE, it was felt that there was good pace in tonight’s race and that were HAPPY FORCE to be ridden to obtain a forward position, too much use would have to be made of it. He said the connections of HAPPY FORCE were concerned with the manner in which the horse had been finishing off its recent races over 1400 Metres and stepping up in distance tonight, in the event that the horse had to work hard to obtain a forward position, HAPPY FORCE would again not finish off the race. He said therefore he was asked to obtain a midfield position if possible with cover to see whether HAPPY FORCE would be able to close off the race. He said HAPPY FORCE had never previously been ridden from off the speed and therefore it was unknown whether the horse would be able to perform well when ridden in this manner. He said, from a wide barrier, he shifted HAPPY FORCE across with a view to obtaining a midfield position, however, when a number of runners, which were drawn better than HAPPY FORCE, maintained their position, he was required to steady his mount back further in an attempt to obtain cover, however, HAPPY FORCE was left racing wide and without cover after the 1300 Metres due to SURREALISM maintaining its position inside HAPPY FORCE one horse away from the rail. M L Yeung added that he had noted that on the previous occasion when HAPPY FORCE ran over the course and distance, the horse did not finish off the race strongly after having a largely uncontested lead. Mr T P Yung, the trainer of HAPPY FORCE, confirmed the instructions given to Jockey Yeung in consultation with the horse’s owner. He said this was only the second occasion in which HAPPY FORCE had raced beyond 1400 Metres, the distance over which it had previously been successful. He said with MAGNIFICENT and CALIFORNIA ARGENT being engaged in the race and with both horses more favourably drawn than HAPPY FORCE, he was concerned that HAPPY FORCE would be made to work to obtain the lead and racing over 1650 Metres that HAPPY FORCE may not see out the distance and therefore it was agreed that the best option for HAPPY FORCE was to attempt to obtain a midfield position. He said having regard to the manner in which the horse raced tonight, it was his intention to bring the horse back in distance at its future race starts and to have it ridden in a prominent position if possible. Mr Yung was advised that the Stewards had some concern with the manner in which HAPPY FORCE was ridden tonight given the speed that the horse had shown in its previous races over 1400 Metres. He was told to ensure that horses are ridden in a consistent manner where appropriate circumstances permit. A veterinary inspection of SUPER BULLET immediately following the race did not show any significant findings, however, the horse was unable to be scoped due to being fractious. JOLLY HONOUR, SOLAR WAI WAI and SURREALISM were sent for sampling.