23/03/2022  Happy Valley  Race 7

SMART IDEA stumbled badly at the start and lost ground. SEIZING THE MOMENT shifted in away from the heels of SUPER DOBBIN on jumping and in doing so bumped FAULDS which lost ground when bumped and crowded for room outside DECISIVE TWELVE . PRANCE DRAGON was crowded for room on jumping between LOCKHEED and NOTHING NEW which shifted in. After this, LOCKHEED, PRANCE DRAGON and NOTHING NEW were all shifted across behind runners in the early stages. Approaching the 1000 Metres, PRANCE DRAGON commenced to travel keenly and was awkwardly placed close to the heels of NOTHING NEW. Passing the 900 Metres, LOCKHEED (Z Purton) became unbalanced and lost ground when crowded for room inside PRANCE DRAGON which, when travelling very keenly, was taken in by NOTHING NEW (A Badel) which shifted in before being directed out abruptly passing the 850 Metres to relieve the crowding to runners to its inside. A Badel was advised that whilst the Stewards were of the opinion that PRANCE DRAGON’s racing manners had played a significant part in this incident, nonetheless he must ensure that he is properly clear when shifting ground in similar circumstances. Z Purton stated that prior to being crowded for room, LOCKHEED was not handling tonight’s track surface. He said although LOCKHEED was crowded for room after the 900 Metres, the horse was not travelling well enough to maintain its position inside PRANCE DRAGON and near the 700 Metres he shifted his mount out a number of horses away from the inside in the hope that LOCKHEED would travel better. He said however that LOCKHEED made the turn near the 600 Metres awkwardly and would not stretch out. He added that as LOCKHEED was not handling the going and was out of contention after the 600 Metres, he eased the horse down rounding the Home Turn and in the Straight. A veterinary inspection of LOCKHEED immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. The performance of LOCKHEED, which finished tailed out, was considered unacceptable. Before being allowed to race again, LOCKHEED will be required to perform to the satisfaction of the Stewards in a barrier trial and be subjected to an official veterinary examination. At the entrance to the Straight, SEIZING THE MOMENT became unbalanced when bumped on the hindquarters by FAMILY FOLKS which, when improving between SEIZING THE MOMENT and DECISIVE TWELVE, was taken out by DECISIVE TWELVE which was awkwardly placed behind MAGIC PHOENIX. DECISIVE TWELVE was then shifted in away from the heels of MAGIC PHOENIX passing the 300 Metres. Passing the 150 Metres, FAMILY FOLKS was crowded for room between NOTHING NEW and MAGIC PHOENIX (L Hewitson) which shifted out under pressure. L Hewitson was reprimanded. When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of MAGIC PHOENIX, L Hewitson stated that his mount travelled as well as it did at its last start in the early and middle stages. He said MAGIC PHOENIX relaxed nicely after obtaining cover behind SUPER DOBBIN and given the manner in which the horse had travelled, he anticipated that it would finish the race off well. He said, unlike at its last start when MAGIC PHOENIX responded well to his riding rounding the Home Turn, the horse tonight came under immediate pressure after being shifted to the outside of SUPER DOBBIN passing the 400 Metres and then did not respond to his riding thereafter before giving ground over the latter stages. He said although MAGIC PHOENIX had travelled well in the early and middle stages of tonight’s race, he was of the opinion that the horse was not confident on tonight’s track surface as MAGIC PHOENIX did not finish the race off as strongly as it did at its last start when racing on a "Good” track. A veterinary inspection of MAGIC PHOENIX immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. When questioned, M F Poon stated that he was instructed to ride MR COLOURFUL positively in the early stages to obtain a forward position. He said he was asked to attempt to lead the race, however, if MR COLOURFUL did not show sufficient speed to lead, then it was acceptable for him to either sit outside the lead or take a trailing position behind the lead. He said after riding his mount along in the early stages, he followed SUPER DOBBIN across making the turn near the 1000 Metres. He said as SUPER DOBBIN was improving forward of MAGIC PHOENIX, he anticipated that that horse would continue to shift in to race on the rail which would provide MR COLOURFUL with the opportunity to race to that horse’s outside one horse off the rail. He said however that SUPER DOBBIN maintained its position racing one horse off the rail after the 800 Metres which resulted in MR COLOURFUL being left racing wide and without cover. He added that rather than remaining racing wide, he elected to ride his mount along to clear SUPER DOBBIN and obtain a position closer to the rail after the 600 Metres. A veterinary inspection of DECISIVE TWELVE immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. SMART IDEA and SEIZING THE MOMENT were sent for sampling.