03/03/2021  Happy Valley  Race 3

UNIVERSAL GO GO (M F Poon) shifted in at the start and bumped MISSION SMART. In this incident, M F Poon lost the use of his right stirrup iron which he was able to regather near the 1150 Metres. From wide barriers, LUCKY PUZZLE and SUNNY BABY were shifted across behind runners in the early stages to obtain cover. After initially being ridden along from a wide barrier in the early stages, WOOD ON FIRE was steadied making the turn near the 1000 Metres to obtain cover. Passing the 700 Metres, MERCURIAL commenced to travel keenly and got its head up when awkwardly placed close to the heels of GALLANT LEGACY. After the 400 Metres, SUNNY BABY was awkwardly placed behind LUCKY PUZZLE when being shifted to the outside of that horse to obtain clear running. After the 300 Metres, GALLANT LEGACY was awkwardly placed behind YOUNG VICTORY. Approaching the 250 Metres, MISSION SMART was awkwardly placed close to the heels of SHADOW RUNNER when being directed to the outside of that horse to obtain clear running. Close to the finishing line, UNIVERSAL GO GO was awkwardly placed close to the heels of MERCURIAL and consequently was not able to be ridden out all the way to the end of the race. For the majority of the race, FOCUS travelled wide and without cover and in the Straight gave ground. When questioned, Apprentice C L Chau stated that, consistent with its most recent start, he was instructed to lead on MERCURIAL tonight if circumstances permitted. He said on jumping MERCURIAL began very awkwardly which resulted in him becoming badly unbalanced. He said he then rode his mount along for some distance in an endeavour to obtain a forward position, however, MERCURIAL was not able to show sufficient early speed to improve its position between horses and therefore after the 1100 Metres he elected to shift MERCURIAL across and obtain cover behind YOUNG VICTORY. He added he was of the opinion that to continue to ride his mount along in an endeavour to comply with his instructions would have resulted in MERCURIAL having to do too much work and would likely then not be able to finish off the race. On return to Sha Tin, the Veterinary Surgeon reported that LUCKY PUZZLE was found to be bleeding from the right nostril. An endoscopic examination conducted on LUCKY PUZZLE confirmed that horse to have bled. A veterinary inspection of GALLANT LEGACY and YOUNG VICTORY immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. MERCURIAL, WOOD ON FIRE and MISSION SMART were sent for sampling.