06/05/2020  Happy Valley  Race 5

After being loaded into the barriers, STAR OF THEHARBOUR became very fractious, got its head down and attempted to break through under the front gates. STAR OF THEHARBOUR was removed from the barriers and examined by the Veterinary Officer who said in his opinion it was not suitable to race. Acting on this advice, the STAR OF THEHARBOUR was withdrawn by order of the Stewards. Before being allowed to race again, STAR OF THEHARBOUR will be required to perform satisfactorily in a barrier trial and be subjected to an official veterinary examination. DESTINE JEWELLERY began only fairly and then was bumped by HAPPY VICTORY which shifted out after beginning very awkwardly. INTERSTELLAR shifted in at the start, resulting in ALL YOU KNOW being crowded for room outside DASHING GRACE which became unbalanced after being bumped by ALL YOU KNOW. From the outside barriers, MILLENNIUM FALCON and ONE STEP AHEAD were steadied in the early stages and shifted across behind runners. Near the 1050 Metres, DASHING GRACE commenced to travel keenly and became unbalanced when checked away from the heels of JAZZ STEED. When questioned, M F Poon stated that he was instructed to ride ALL YOU KNOW in about a midfield position with cover if possible. He said after being hampered on jumping, he commenced to shift ALL YOU KNOW across to obtain a position in midfield and passing the 1100 Metres was racing directly to the outside of DASHING GRACE which was racing in a three wide position. He said he felt he would have had to restrain ALL YOU KNOW heavily to obtain a trailing position behind DASHING GRACE which passing the 1100 Metres was being steadied away from the heels of JAZZ STEED. He said this resulted in ALL YOU KNOW racing in a four wide position and without cover. He said he allowed ALL YOU KNOW to continue forward of DASHING GRACE in order to obtain a position closer to the rail, however, ALL YOU KNOW continued to race wide and without cover throughout the race and in a more forward position than had been intended. A veterinary inspection of ALL YOU KNOW immediately following the race found that horse to be lame in its left front leg. Before being allowed to race again, ALL YOU KNOW will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. The Stewards deferred the declaration of weighed-in whilst they considered if MOMENTUM GALAXY (Z Purton) had been afforded a fair start. After viewing the videos, it was established that as the start was effected, MOMENTUM GALAXY became fractious and turned its head to the right and into the adjoining stall. This resulted in MOMENTUM GALAXY losing a significant amount of ground. As the Stewards were satisfied that MOMENTUM GALAXY had caused its own problem simultaneously with the start being effected, it was deemed to have been afforded a fair start and accordingly was ruled to be a runner. Whilst it did not have any bearing on the Stewards’ decision, it should be noted that Z Purton did not make application for MOMENTUM GALAXY to be declared a non-runner. Before being allowed to race again, MOMENTUM GALAXY will be required to perform satisfactorily in a barrier trial. A veterinary inspection of DASHING GRACE immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. HARMONY N HOME, THE RUNNER and INTERSTELLAR were sent for sampling.