20/03/2022  Shatin  Race 8

SENOR TOBA began only fairly and then was inconvenienced by FA FA which after beginning awkwardly was taken in by ROCKET SPADE which shifted in away from TURIN REDSUN after being bumped by that horse which, in turn, was bumped by IMA SINGLE MAN after that horse shifted in abruptly after beginning awkwardly. S J TOURBILLON shifted out at the start and inconvenienced THE IRISHMAN. From the outside barriers, THE IRISHMAN and NORDIC SKY were shifted across behind runners in the early stages. After passing the winning post on the first occasion, TURIN REDSUN was awkwardly placed outside the heels of SENOR TOBA. Passing the 1600 Metres, ROMANTIC WARRIOR commenced to travel keenly and got its head up when being steadied away from the heels of MONEY CATCHER. Also passing the 1600 Metres, FA FA commenced to travel keenly and got its head up when being steadied away from the heels of IMA SINGLE MAN. S J TOURBILLON travelled wide and without cover until near the 1400 Metres. At the entrance to the Straight, CALIFORNIA SPANGLE was directed out a number of horses. CHAMPION DRAGON had some difficulty obtaining clear running in the early part of the Straight and passing the 300 Metres was checked away from the heels of MR ASCENDENCY. Approaching and passing the 200 Metres, THE IRISHMAN shifted out under pressure. The performance of S J TOURBILLON, which finished tailed out, was considered unacceptable. Before being allowed to race again, S J TOURBILLON will be required to perform to the satisfaction of the Stewards in a barrier trial and be subjected to an official veterinary examination. When questioned regarding his riding of ROCKET SPADE after the 1200 Metres, C Y Ho stated that he was instructed to obtain a forward position on the horse. He said in a barrier trial in the lead up to today’s race with the blinkers applied, ROCKET SPADE performed well when able to obtain a forward position and it was anticipated that the horse would perform similarly in today’s race. He said despite being ridden along in the early stages ROCKET SPADE failed to muster speed and because of this raced further back in the field than hoped in the early stages. He said he was able to obtain a position with cover behind S J TOURBILLON after entering the Back Straight and he was comfortable to allow ROCKET SPADE to remain racing in this position. He said however that ROCKET SPADE commenced to travel keenly after the 1200 Metres and as he felt that the tempo of the race was steadying up at this stage and given that ROCKET SPADE is somewhat one-paced, he elected to allow the horse to shift to the outside of S J TOURBILLON and commenced to improve his position outside that horse. He added that he was concerned if he allowed ROCKET SPADE to remain racing behind S J TOURBILLON, the horse would be left flat-footed when the pace of the race increased. He said this resulted in ROCKET SPADE racing in a three wide position without cover for the remainder of the race. C Y Ho’s explanation was noted. The performance of ROCKET SPADE, which finished tailed out, was considered unacceptable. Before being allowed to race again, ROCKET SPADE will be required to perform to the satisfaction of the Stewards in a barrier trial and be subjected to an official veterinary examination. ROMANTIC WARRIOR and CALIFORNIA SPANGLE were sent for sampling.