01/03/2023  Happy Valley  Race 5

NOBLE ACE jumped only fairly and shortly after the start raced tight between TELECOM SPEED which shifted out and HAPPILY FRIENDS which shifted in. SNOWALOT was slow to begin and shortly after the start was bumped heavily by JOY COMING which was taken in by FURTHER FORWARD which shifted in despite the efforts of its rider. In this incident, SNOWALOT became awkwardly placed on the heels of FLAMING PASSION and as a result lost additional ground and JOY COMING was steadied away from the heels of FURTHER FORWARD. NOBLE ACE raced keenly in the middle stages and brushed the running rail near the 600 Metres. Approaching the 250 Metres, WOOD ON FIRE became badly held up behind FURTHER FORWARD when positioned tight to the inside of FLAMING PASSION. As WOOD ON FIRE endeavoured to obtain a run to the outside of FURTHER FORWARD, it made contact with FLAMING PASSION on a number of occasions near the 200 Metres. WOOD ON FIRE then did not obtain clear running until near the 75 Metres when it again bumped with FLAMING PASSION whilst it improved into a narrow run between FLAMING PASSION and FURTHER FORWARD. Near the 200 Metres, NOBLE ACE raced tight to the inside of WOOD ON FIRE for a short distance. Then over the final 75 Metres, NOBLE ACE was held up and could not be ridden out to the finish when positioned behind TELECOM SPEED. When questioned, C Y Ho (RIGHTEOUS ARION) stated that soon after straightening RIGHTEOUS ARION lay in and as a consequence he changed his whip from his left to his right hand in order to assist in correcting his mount. He said after the 200 Metres as he recommenced to ride RIGHTEOUS ARION with the whip in his right hand, the horse then commenced to lay out which necessitated him having to stop riding with the whip and straighten near the 125 Metres. He added that he again applied the whip to RIGHTEOUS ARION near the 75 Metres, however, the horse again shifted out where he stopped riding for a short distance before resuming riding with the whip over the concluding stages as RIGHTEOUS ARION continued to shift out. When questioned regarding his riding of TRAVEL GOLF, C Wong stated that from the outside barrier he was instructed to ride TRAVEL GOLF in a conservative manner in the early stages and endeavour to take up a position towards the rail. He said he was able to position TRAVEL GOLF towards the rear of the field where it obtained the position on the rail in the early stages and TRAVEL GOLF travelled comfortably throughout the early and middle stages. He added that on straightening he initially endeavoured to improve to the inside of NOBLE ACE, however, when NOBLE ACE shifted in, he was disappointed for this run and then shifted to the outside of that runner passing the 250 Metres to improve. He said as he started to ride his mount along near the 200 Metres, he became concerned that WOOD ON FIRE had been badly held up in advance of him and had he continued to ride TRAVEL GOLF along, this would have resulted in his mount being positioned too close to the heels of that runner. He said for this reason his vigour reduced during this section of the race before he was able to shift out behind WOOD ON FIRE and FLAMING PASSION whereby he secured clear running near the 100 Metres and TRAVEL GOLF finished the race off well. Trainer C H Yip confirmed the instructions issued to Jockey Wong. After considering Jockey Wong’s explanation, the Stewards advised him, wherever possible, he should ensure that he takes advantage of runs as soon as they present themselves so that his mounts are able to finish in the best possible placing and to ride them in such a manner as to leave no room for query. When questioned regarding the performance of JOY COMING, Z Purton stated that his mount was crowded at the start and settled further back in the field than he had anticipated. He said JOY COMING raced keenly throughout the early and middle stages and as a result was unable to finish the race off. A veterinary inspection of JOY COMING immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. A veterinary inspection of MELBOURNE HALL immediately following the race did not show any significant findings. SNOWALOT and RIGHTEOUS ARION were sent for sampling.