12/11/2022  Shatin  Race 6

At declaration time, L Hewitson was declared as the rider of both PERFECT PEACH and SUPER HORNET. It was established that L Hewitson had a firm commitment to ride PERFECT PEACH. As such, the Stewards permitted A Badel to be substituted as the rider of SUPER HORNET. For this declaration error, Trainer D J Whyte was fined $2,000. FLYING MOJITO shifted in at the start and bumped ADEFILL. SPEED FAY FAY shifted out on jumping and inconvenienced MASTER OF LUCK. GLORIOUS LOVER shifted out at the start and inconvenienced AMAZING INNOVATOR. Then a short distance later, AMAZING INNOVATOR became unbalanced when crowded for room between GLORIOUS LOVER and JIANGXI STAMINA. After this, from a wide barrier, AMAZING INNOVATOR was shifted across behind runners to obtain cover. VOYAGE STAR shifted in on jumping and bumped JIANGXI STAMINA. Approaching and passing the 1100 Metres, CASA LEGEND travelled keenly when being steadied to obtain cover. Approaching the 900 Metres, MASTER OF LUCK got its head up when travelling keenly and racing close to the heels of FLYING MOJITO. At the entrance to the Straight, SUPER HORNET raced tight outside JIANGXI STAMINA which shifted out to obtain clear running. After the 400 Metres, ADEFILL improved into tight running between INDIGENOUS REALM and STAR CONTACT. Near the 350 Metres, FLYING MOJITO was steadied when crowded for room between STAR CONTACT and VOYAGE STAR (C L Chau) which shifted in. C L Chau was severely reprimanded and told to ensure that he makes more endeavour than he did on this occasion to prevent his mounts from shifting ground. Close to the finishing line, MASTER OF LUCK was shifted out away from the heels of STAR CONTACT. When questioned, L Hewitson stated that he was instructed to obtain a forward position on PERFECT PEACH from barrier 13 which was consistent with how the horse was ridden at its most recent start and either lead the race or sit outside the lead if another horse was intent on leading. He said PERFECT PEACH began satisfactorily, however, shifted out on jumping and bumped SUPER HORNET which resulted in PERFECT PEACH becoming unbalanced and losing some ground. He said after this he felt that he would have had to make a lot of use of PERFECT PEACH to recover lost ground and obtain a forward position which he believed would not have allowed the opportunity for the horse to finish the race off. He said therefore he elected to steady PERFECT PEACH and shift his mount across behind runners which resulted in the horse racing much further back in the field than had been intended. When questioned, A Badel stated that he was instructed to ensure that SUPER HORNET began well as the horse had previously not stepped away cleanly from the barriers. He said he was asked to ride SUPER HORNET positively from the outside barrier and obtain a forward position if possible. He said after becoming unbalanced on jumping when bumped by PERFECT PEACH, SUPER HORNET, despite being ridden along, did not show early speed and when he looked to his inside a short distance after the start, he ascertained that he would have had to make significant use of SUPER HORNET to clear a number of runners better drawn and that SUPER HORNET may have been left racing very wide and possibly without cover. He added that therefore he elected, rather than continue to press forward, to steady SUPER HORNET and obtain a position with cover behind midfield. After the race, K C Leung reported that it was intended from barrier 3 for INDIGENOUS REALM to be ridden in a more forward position than its most recent start, however, it was not anticipated that the horse would lead the race. He said after riding his mount positively in the early stages to clear FLYING MOJITO on its inside, INDIGENOUS REALM was left racing in the lead and, in his opinion, INDIGENOUS REALM’s failure to finish the race off in the Straight was attributable to the horse having to race in the lead in the early stages. A veterinary inspection of INDIGENOUS REALM immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. When questioned, C L Chau stated that he was given similar instructions today to when he rode the horse at its last start, that is to ride VOYAGE STAR positively and obtain a forward position. He said it was felt that VOYAGE STAR would have enough early speed to be able to obtain a forward position, however, he was told not to ride his mount aggressively to do so given VOYAGE STAR’s previously documented breathing issue. He said VOYAGE STAR began well today and he immediately commenced to urge his mount forward to take up a forward position. He said despite being given the opportunity to use its natural early speed and obtain a forward position, VOYAGE STAR did not show as much early speed as anticipated and was not able to be in a position to cross runners which were more favourably drawn than VOYAGE STAR. He added that despite continuing to urge his mount along after the 1200 Metres, VOYAGE STAR did not respond and after the 1000 Metres was left racing in a three wide position without cover in advance of midfield. A veterinary inspection of VOYAGE STAR immediately following the race found that horse to be a "roarer” which had previously been reported. MARADO and CASA LEGEND were sent for sampling.