31/01/2021  Shatin  Race 4

COUNTRY BOY was withdrawn on 30.1.21 by order of the Stewards acting on veterinary advice (lame right fore) and was replaced by Standby Declared Starter LAND POWER (J Moreira). Before being allowed to race again, COUNTRY BOY will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. BRAVE POWER began awkwardly, bumped the hindquarters of CHEERFUL DAYS and became unbalanced. GOLD 'N’ BOLD made contact with DONC JE SUIS at the start. When being ridden along from the start, MCMUNIGAL shifted out and inconvenienced GOLD 'N’ BOLD. From the outside barrier, AMAZING LUCK was shifted across behind runners soon after the start. After the 400 Metres, SURE WIN WIN lay in and made contact with the hindquarters of MCMUNIGAL, resulting in both horses becoming unbalanced. HAPPY WIN WIN had difficulty obtaining clear running in the early part of the Straight. Passing the 100 Metres, GOLD 'N’ BOLD shifted out away from the heels of CHEERFUL DAYS which was giving ground. K C Leung (WINNING STEED) and A Badel (SURE WIN WIN) were each fined the sum of $5,000 for using their whip forward of the saddle in the Straight. When questioned, Z Purton stated that as there was a lack of speed anticipated in the race, it was agreed that he should be positive on CHEERFUL DAYS and take up a forward position from barrier 11. He said after being ridden along for some distance to clear runners to his inside, he was able to assume the outright lead near the 1400 Metres, however, after reaching the lead, CHEERFUL DAYS, due to having been ridden along early, travelled keenly and took some time to settle. He said CHEERFUL DAYS is a horse with a big action and continued to travel strongly in the lead through the middle stages. He added whilst the strong early sectionals would have impacted on the horse’s finishing performance, he felt that CHEERFUL DAYS was nonetheless disappointing in the manner in which it failed to close off the race. He said after the race he indicated to connections that CHEERFUL DAYS may be feeling the effects of several hard runs of late and that they might consider giving the horse a freshen-up. Trainer K W Lui confirmed that as there was a lack of anticipated pace in the race, it was agreed that CHEERFUL DAYS should be ridden to obtain a more prominent position which would likely be in the lead. He said however that whilst the awkward barrier draw today had prompted these tactics, he feels that from a better barrier draw CHEERFUL DAYS would be better suited if able to be ridden with cover. He confirmed that in light of Jockey Purton’s post-race advice, he would discuss with connections whether the horse would benefit from a break from racing. A veterinary inspection of CHEERFUL DAYS immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. CHEERFUL DAYS, HAPPY WIN WIN and WINNING STEED were sent for sampling.