24/02/2021  Happy Valley  Race 5

TWINX lifted its front feet off the ground as the start was effected, began very awkwardly and lost ground. INFINITE POWER began very awkwardly, shifted in abruptly at the start and bumped the hindquarters of VIVA CHEF, causing VIVA CHEF to become unbalanced and INFINITE POWER to lose ground. VIVA CHEF then shifted in and inconvenienced TOWARDS SUCCESS which began only fairly. VERY SWEET ORANGE and FORTUNE CARRIER bumped at the start. From the outside barrier, RAGING BLAZE was shifted across behind runners in the early stages. After being steadied in the early stages and shifted across behind runners, HARMONY FIRE was left racing wide and without cover after the 700 Metres. Approaching the 800 Metres, OVERSUBSCRIBED was crowded for room inside RAGING BLAZE which got its head on the side and lay in away from GOUTEN OF GARO despite the efforts of its rider. When OVERSUBSCRIBED was awkwardly placed inside RAGING BLAZE, that horse shifted in, resulting in TOWARDS SUCCESS being inconvenienced. Making the turn near the 600 Metres, RAGING BLAZE commenced to travel keenly and got its head on the side when being checked away from the heels of CANTSTOPTHEFEELING, causing RAGING BLAZE to shift in and crowd OVERSUBSCRIBED which resulted in both OVERSUBSCRIBED and RAGING BLAZE being hampered. Passing the 300 Metres, RAGING BLAZE got its head on the side and lay in under pressure. Then over the concluding stages, RAGING BLAZE again got its head on the side and lay in away from OVERSUBSCRIBED, resulting in RAGING BLAZE being awkwardly placed outside the heels of VERY SWEET ORANGE and not being able to be ridden out all the way to the end of the race. Passing the 250 Metres, INFINITE POWER became unbalanced when being shifted to the inside of FORTUNE CARRIER which at this stage lay in when commencing to give ground. Passing the 200 Metres, A Hamelin (CANTSTOPTHEFEELING) dropped his whip. When questioned, M F Poon stated that he had been given the same instructions on how to ride OVERSUBSCRIBED tonight that he had been given when he had previously ridden the horse, that being not to ride his mount along in the early stages to ensure that it did not over-race. He said OVERSUBSCRIBED began only fairly tonight and therefore he shifted his mount across behind runners in the early stages to obtain a position closer to the rail. When questioned, B Shinn stated that as GOUTEN OF GARO had drawn wide and there were a considerable number of speed horses drawn more favourably than GOUTEN OF GARO and it was felt that if he were to ride his mount along in the early stages to take up a forward position as usual, the horse would likely be left racing very wide and without cover. He said therefore he was asked to obtain cover on GOUTEN OF GARO in tonight’s race to provide the horse with the best opportunity to finish off the race. He said in accordance with his instructions, he steadied his mount in the early stages to obtain a trailing position. When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of FORTUNE CARRIER, Z Purton stated that as he advised after its last start FORTUNE CARRIER is inexperienced and therefore it was felt that dropping the horse back in distance to 1000 Metres would allow it to travel better as it has sufficient early speed to be able to take up a forward position. He said after riding his mount along in the early stages, he was able to shift across and race outside the lead after the 800 Metres. He said FORTUNE CARRIER travelled only fairly in the middle stages and then came under pressure rounding the Home Turn. He said FORTUNE CARRIER raced greenly when under pressure in the Straight and shifted ground on a number of occasions and then did not finish off the race. He added whilst FORTUNE CARRIER should develop in the future, at this stage of its career, it is too immature to be able to finish off its races strongly and FORTUNE CARRIER would benefit from racing. A veterinary inspection of FORTUNE CARRIER immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. The performance of FORTUNE CARRIER, favourite for tonight’s race and which finished towards the rear of the field, was considered unacceptable. Before being allowed to race again, FORTUNE CARRIER 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 TWINX immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. FORTUNE CARRIER, HARMONY FIRE and CANTSTOPTHEFEELING were sent for sampling.