24/10/2020  Shatin  Race 3

PERFECT HARMONY, which was fractious in the barriers, was slow to begin. ADONIS began awkwardly and lost ground and then was steadied away from the heels of SMILING SUCCESS shortly after the start when that horse shifted in. COOL ACE was crowded for room on jumping between BLAZING PARTNERS and GREAT HARVEST, both of which shifted ground. BLAZING PARTNERS consequently shifted out and bumped MASTERWORK, causing both horses to become unbalanced. After this, BLAZING PARTNERS was steadied to obtain cover. From the outside barrier, RED BRICK FIGHTER was also steadied in the early stages to obtain cover. When being steadied to obtain cover approaching the 1000 Metres, GREAT HARVEST got its head up on a number of occasions. After this, GREAT HARVEST continued to race ungenerously. After the 900 Metres, COOL ACE was left racing wide and without cover. Passing the 500 Metres, BLAZING PARTNERS raced in restricted room between VITAL SPRING which improved quickly to its outside and THE FULL BLOOM which, when shifting to the outside of SHANGHAI DRAGON, was taken wider by that horse. Passing the 500 Metres, SMILING SUCCESS was bumped by ADONIS which shifted out when awkwardly placed close to the heels of GREAT HARVEST. SMILING SUCCESS was then bushed by ADONIS at the entrance to the Straight as that horse raced tight outside GREAT HARVEST which shifted to the outside of MASTERWORK. ADONIS and SMILING SUCCESS again made contact near the 400 Metres as SHANGHAI DRAGON was attempting to improve into tight running which was available outside SMILING SUCCESS and inside COOL ACE. When SMILING SUCCESS was bumped by ADONIS, SMILING SUCCESS shifted out, resulting in SHANGHAI DRAGON racing tight outside SMILING SUCCESS and shifting out, causing COOL ACE and THE FULL BLOOM to be crowded for room inside VITAL SPRING. COOL ACE was then checked away from the heels of SHANGHAI DRAGON approaching the 350 Metres as that horse continued to race tight outside SMILING SUCCESS. RED BRICK FIGHTER was held up for clear running in the early part of the Straight and approaching the 300 Metres was steadied when unable to improve between MASTERWORK and GREAT HARVEST. RED BRICK FIGHTER then continued to be held up for clear running until approaching the 200 Metres. VIVA COUNCIL had some difficulty obtaining clear running in the early part of the Straight and after obtaining clear running near the 200 Metres got its head on the side and lay out under pressure. Approaching the 300 Metres, SHANGHAI DRAGON was steadied away from the heels of VITAL SPRING when racing tight between that horse and SMILING SUCCESS. SHANGHAI DRAGON then continued to be awkwardly placed behind VITAL SPRING and SMILING SUCCESS and after momentarily obtaining clear running between those horses passing the 300 Metres was steadied when unable to continue improving as a result of SMILING SUCCESS (A Badel) shifting out away from ADONIS. SHANGHAI DRAGON then continued to be awkwardly placed behind SMILING SUCCESS and VITAL SPRING and passing the 100 Metres was shifted in away from the heels of SMILING SUCCESS. A Badel was reprimanded and told that in similar circumstances he would be expected to do more than he did on this occasion to prevent his mount from shifting ground. The performance of PLANET FLYER, which finished tailed out, was considered unacceptable. Before being allowed to race again, PLANET FLYER will be required to perform to the satisfaction of the Stewards in a barrier trial and be subjected to an official veterinary examination. A veterinary inspection of PLANET FLYER immediately following the race including an endoscopic examination showed a substantial amount of mucus in the horse’s trachea. When questioned, A Badel (SMILING SUCCESS) stated that in a trial leading up to today’s race, he had ridden the horse behind the speed to see whether it could finish off better than it had been in some of its recent races when it had been ridden to obtain the lead. He said in that trial SMILING SUCCESS had finished off satisfactorily. He said today he was instructed to ride his mount positively in the early stages and if he was able to obtain the lead easily, it was acceptable for him to do so, however, if other horses were ridden to obtain the lead, then it was acceptable for him to obtain a trailing position. He said in accordance with his instructions he rode his mount along in the early stages to obtain a forward position and then after the 1200 Metres when horses racing outside of SMILING SUCCESS were ridden positively, he allowed those horses to cross SMILING SUCCESS as he would have had to ride his mount along to maintain a leading position. A veterinary inspection of SHANGHAI DRAGON and GREAT HARVEST immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. SHANGHAI DRAGON, THE FULL BLOOM and RED BRICK FIGHTER were sent for sampling.