01/11/2020  Shatin  Race 3

On arrival at the barriers, H N Wong expressed concern regarding SEIZE THE SPIRIT’s action. SEIZE THE SPIRIT was examined by the Veterinary Officer who said that after the necessary consultations the horse was suitable to race. After being loaded into the barriers, STAY CHILL reared abruptly and got its left front leg over into the adjoining stall as well as its right front leg up onto the front barrier gate. It then took some time for STAY CHILL to be able to be removed from the barriers. Acting on veterinary advice that STAY CHILL was not suitable to race, that horse was withdrawn by order of the Stewards. When STAY CHILL became fractious, JADE PHOENIX and MY SUGAR, which were in the adjoining stalls, were also removed from the barriers as a precaution. Before being allowed to race again, STAY CHILL will be required to perform satisfactorily in a barrier trial and be subjected to an official veterinary examination. RHAPSODY and LUCKY RUBY bumped at the start. RHAPSODY was then crowded for room between LUCKY RUBY and SEIZE THE SPIRIT which shifted in and then shifted in further after becoming unbalanced as a result of contact on the hindquarters from RHAPSODY. ULTRA EXPRESS was crowded for room on jumping between HELAKU KNIGHT and ONE HAPPY STAR which shifted in. MY SUGAR and SURE WIN WIN bumped at the start. From wide barriers, MASTER ALBERT and CHARITY GRACE were steadied and shifted across behind runners in the early stages. Making the turn after the 900 Metres, MY SUGAR raced tight outside SEIZE THE SPIRIT which made the turn awkwardly. After this, SEIZE THE SPIRIT was reluctant to maintain its position and despite being ridden along lost ground which resulted in ULTRA EXPRESS becoming unbalanced and being checked away from the heels of SEIZE THE SPIRIT near the 700 Metres when that horse shifted in. CHARITY GRACE, which was following ULTRA EXPRESS, got its head up and shifted out away from the heels of that horse in consequence. Passing the 500 Metres, GOLDEN LINK and RHAPSODY raced tight as RHAPSODY improved into tight running between GOLDEN LINK and LUCKY RUBY. At the entrance to the Straight, MASTER ALBERT was bumped by CHARITY GRACE which made the Home Turn awkwardly after shifting to the outside of SURE WIN WIN to obtain clear running. In this incident, both CHARITY GRACE and MASTER ALBERT became unbalanced. Near the 50 Metres, CHARITY GRACE, which was closing off the race strongly, was shifted to the outside of SURE WIN WIN as a result of that horse shifting in when awkwardly placed behind HELAKU KNIGHT. After this, SURE WIN WIN was held up for clear running behind HELAKU KNIGHT and consequently was not able to be ridden out to the end of the race. Mr P F Yiu, the trainer of GOLDEN LINK, explained that whilst it was his preference for the horse to be ridden in about a midfield position from the outside barrier, he believed that there was a likelihood that GOLDEN LINK would be left racing wide and perhaps without cover. He said he therefore elected to instruct V Borges to obtain a forward position to avoid covering unnecessary ground. RHAPSODY and MY SUGAR were sent for sampling.