31/10/2021  Happy Valley  Race 8

HERE COMES TED was withdrawn 28.10.21 on by order of the Stewards acting on veterinary advice (colic) and was replaced by Standby Declared Starter PRETTY QUEEN PRAWN. Before being allowed to race again, HERE COMES TED will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. FARIBAULT bumped the outside of its gate on jumping and began awkwardly. FORTUNE MASTER shifted in at the start and bumped the hindquarters of WINWIN THIRTYTHREE, resulting in FORTUNE MASTER losing ground. BEAUTY CHEERS and IRON KING bumped at the start. BEAUTY CHEERS and IRON KING were then crowded for room inside HERO STAR and outside BALTIC WHISPER which shifted out after bumping MELBOURNE HALL. MELBOURNE HALL then became unbalanced when crowded for room between BALTIC WHISPER and EUROMISSILE which shifted out. Shortly after the start, WINWIN THIRTYTHREE got its head on the side, shifted out and inconvenienced EUROMISSILE. WINWIN THIRTYTHREE lost its left hind plate shortly after the start. From the outside barrier, PRETTY QUEEN PRAWN was steadied in the early stages and shifted across behind runners. A Hamelin (BALTIC WHISPER) pleaded guilty to a charge of careless riding [Rule 100(1)] in that after the 1000 Metres he restrained his mount in such a manner as to cause BALTIC WHISPER to lose ground abruptly which resulted in IRON KING, which was following BALTIC WHISPER, being severely checked away from the heels of that horse approaching the 900 Metres, subsequently striking the heels of BALTIC WHISPER and stumbling. In the circumstances, A Hamelin was suspended from riding in races for a period to commence on Wednesday, 17 November 2021 and to expire on Monday, 22 November 2021 on which day he may resume race riding (2 Hong Kong racedays). After the 900 Metres, FARIBAULT (K Teetan), which was travelling keenly, improved to be racing outside the heels of FLAMING PASSION which resulted in EUROMISSILE being bumped and taken wider. After this, EUROMISSILE travelled wide and without cover. K Teetan stated that after this his mount travelled too keenly in the early and middle stages and would not relax. He said because of this FARIBAULT was not able to finish off the race strongly over the concluding stages. For some distance after the 800 Metres, WINWIN THIRTYTHREE was awkwardly placed behind FARIBAULT. Approaching the 200 Metres, FLAMING PASSION and FARIBAULT brushed. Passing the 200 Metres, BALTIC WHISPER was shifted out away from the heels of EUROMISSILE which drifted out under pressure. When questioned, A Badel stated that it was felt that BEAUTY CHEERS would have sufficient early speed to be able to take up a forward position, however, he was told not to ride his mount aggressively in the early stages to do so. He said as a result of being crowded for room on jumping, BEAUTY CHEERS was not able to begin as well as anticipated and because of this raced further back in the field than intended. He said due to the makeup of the field in the early stages, BEAUTY CHEERS was left racing very wide and without cover throughout the race and after coming under pressure prior to the 400 Metres then weakened noticeably in the Straight. He added that although BEAUTY CHEERS was required to race wide and without cover throughout the race, it was of concern to him the manner in which the horse gave ground so quickly rounding the Home Turn to finish tailed out. A veterinary inspection of BEAUTY CHEERS immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. The performance of BEAUTY CHEERS was considered unacceptable. Before being allowed to race again, BEAUTY CHEERS 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 BALTIC WHISPER immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. A veterinary inspection of IRON KING 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, IRON KING will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. IRON KING, FLAMING PASSION and WINWIN THIRTYTHREE were sent for sampling.