18/12/2022  Shatin  Race 1

ANGELS HUNTER shifted in at the start and bumped FANTASY SPRING which became unbalanced. THIS IS GUTS was crowded for room on jumping between SEA MONARCH and APEX TOP which shifted out. In this incident, SEA MONARCH became unbalanced after being bumped by THIS IS GUTS. SEA MONARCH then shifted out, resulting in JIANGXI STAMINA and GIVE WAY PLEASE racing in restricted room inside JOYFUL GENIUS. ALLOY STAR and BRAVE POWER bumped heavily at the start as a result of ALLOY STAR being bumped by EMBARKED which shifted out. Then from wide barriers, EMBARKED, BRAVE POWER and ALLOY STAR were all shifted across behind runners. Also from the outside barrier, TUNG HAYE HAYE was steadied on jumping to obtain cover. After being ridden along for some distance in the early stages, GIVE WAY PLEASE got its head up when awkwardly placed behind SHENRON passing the 1200 Metres. After this, GIVE WAY PLEASE travelled keenly and again got its head up on a number of occasions approaching the 1100 Metres when being steadied to obtain cover. Near the 850 Metres, SEA MONARCH was steadied away from the heels of HANDSOME VEGGIE (Apprentice Y L Chung) which shifted in when not properly clear. Apprentice Chung was advised to exercise more care in similar circumstances. Passing the 800 Metres, ALLOY STAR got its head up on a number of occasions when proving difficult to settle and awkwardly placed behind THIS IS GUTS. After the 800 Metres, HANDSOME VEGGIE was taken wider and without cover by APEX TOP which shifted out. Passing the 600 Metres, GIVE WAY PLEASE was steadied away from the heels of SEA MONARCH. JIANGXI STAMINA, which was following GIVE WAY PLEASE, was shifted out away from the heels of that horse in consequence. JOYFUL GENIUS, which was following JIANGXI STAMINA, also shifted out after being awkwardly placed behind that horse. JIANGXI STAMINA and HANDSOME VEGGIE lay out rounding the Home Turn. SEA MONARCH lay out under pressure in the Straight and approaching the 300 Metres brushed the hindquarters of GIVE WAY PLEASE. EMBARKED was held up for clear running in the early part of the Straight and passing the 300 Metres was steadied away from the heels of ALLOY STAR. EMBARKED was then shifted to the outside of ALLOY STAR approaching the 250 Metres to obtain clear running. Approaching and passing the 200 Metres, ANGELS HUNTER raced tight inside FANTASY SPRING which shifted in under pressure. Near the 150 Metres, THIS IS GUTS was directed to the inside of APEX TOP which shifted out under pressure. After the race, an endoscopic examination was conducted on TUNG HAYE HAYE at the request of Trainer C S Shum. The Veterinary Surgeon said this examination showed a substantial amount of blood in the horse’s trachea. Before being allowed to race again, TUNG HAYE HAYE will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. Also after the race, M L Yeung reported that SEA MONARCH was making an abnormal breathing noise during the race. A veterinary inspection of SEA MONARCH immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. A veterinary inspection of HANDSOME VEGGIE immediately following the race found that horse to have bled from both nostrils. A veterinary inspection of SHENRON immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. JOYFUL GENIUS and BRAVE POWER were sent for sampling.