26/12/2020  Shatin  Race 2

MOON PEAKS jumped out at the start, resulting in ONE STEP AHEAD being inconvenienced. FLYING MONKEY shifted out at the start and inconvenienced SUPREME PATROL and KWAI CHUNG ELITE. From a wide barrier, VEGA RHYTHM was steadied and shifted across behind runners soon after the start. At the 1100 Metres, ONE STEP AHEAD was steadied away from the heels of VEGA RHYTHM (N Callan) which shifted in when not properly clear. N Callan was reprimanded and advised to ensure that he provides sufficient clearance when shifting ground. Approaching the 300 Metres, VEGA RHYTHM was momentarily steadied away from the heels of MOON PEAKS (H W Lai) which shifted out when not quite clear. H W Lai was reprimanded. Near the 200 Metres, FLYING MONKEY, which was inclined to lay out, was awkwardly placed inside WINNING WARRIOR which shifted in slightly when giving ground. WINNING WARRIOR lost its right hind plate after the 200 Metres. Over the concluding stages, JIANGXI STAMINA was obliged to shift in a number of horses to continue improving. SUPER EIGHTEEN lay in under pressure in the Straight. When questioned regarding his riding of GOLDEN MISSION in the early part of the Straight, C Soumillon stated that in pre-race discussions with Mr C W Chang, trainer of GOLDEN MISSION, and also having regard to his viewing of the videos of the horse’s previous race starts, it was felt that the horse is not able to sustain a long finishing run. He said rounding the Home Turn he was following DESTINE JEWELLERY which he considered to be one of the horses to beat in the race and when that horse shifted out and made ground, he was content to follow DESTINE JEWELLERY and allowed it take him into the race. He added approaching the 250 Metres he shifted to the outside of DESTINE JEWELLERY and placed his mount under full pressure, however, GOLDEN MISSION was one-paced and took very little ground off DESTINE JEWELLERY in the run to the finishing line. After the race, Z Purton stated that after being left racing wide and without cover from the 800 Metres, ONE STEP AHEAD did not close off the race as expected and was disappointing. A veterinary inspection of ONE STEP AHEAD immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. A veterinary inspection of GALAXY EMPEROR and KWAI CHUNG ELITE immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. A veterinary inspection of FLYING MONKEY immediately following the race including an endoscopic examination showed a substantial amount of blood in the horse's trachea. Before being allowed to race again, FLYING MONKEY will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. GOLDEN MISSION, MOON PEAKS and DESTINE JEWELLERY were sent for sampling.