11/11/2007  Shatin  Race 4

DAO DAO was withdrawn on 10.11.07 by order of the Stewards acting on veterinary advice (blood abnormality). Before being allowed to race again, DAO DAO will be subjected to an official veterinary examination. Near the 1800 Metres, ALL CHANCES got its head up when being steadied away from the heels of BULLISH CASH (Apprentice K L Chui) which shifted in when not quite clear. Apprentice Chui was advised to exercise greater care. After this incident, ALL CHANCES travelled wide and without cover and after the 1400 Metres was allowed to stride forward and join the lead. At the 300 Metres, LOTZATOW was steadied and shifted to the outside of ALL CHANCES. G Boss was fined $3,000 for improper use of the whip in that he raised wheal marks on the right hand flank of SOCRATES. Apprentice K L Chui said he had been instructed from the wide barrier to go forward in this race and obtain a position somewhere close to LUCKYME if possible. He said these instructions were given because it was felt a number of runners in this race were best suited when being ridden in rearward positions, therefore it was considered advantageous for him to obtain a more forward position than is usual. When questioned, G Mossé (INFINITE DELIGHT) said there was an opportunity for him to shift to the rail near the 1800 Metres, however, he elected not to do so as in his opinion INFINITE DELIGHT is a horse with a history of proving difficult to settle and relaxes much better when racing outside other runners. He said because of this near the 1700 Metres he steadied and allowed NORTHERNER to shift across in front of him to the fence. He said INFINITE DELIGHT travelled fairly, however, after the 1600 Metres when TOM’S SIX steadied in an attempt to obtain a position with over, INFINITE DELIGHT commenced to over-race when close to the heels of that horse. He said after this INFINITE DELIGHT continued to race keenly and near the 600 Metres when placed under pressure failed to respond to his riding and hung in. Mr A Lee, trainer of INFINITE DELIGHT, said the horse had a reoccurrence to an injury to its left front foot which required it to miss track work between 23 October 2007 and 3 November 2007. He said during this period INFINITE DELIGHT was restricted to walking and swimming. He said in the week leading into today’s race INFINITE DELIGHT had galloped on two occasions when being ridden by G Mossé and the horse had shown itself to be fit and sound. He said because of this it was decided INFINITE DELIGHT should run in today’s race. INFINITE DELIGHT was sent for an official veterinary inspection. After the race, INFINITE DELIGHT was examined by the Veterinary Officer. He said an endoscopic examination showed a substantial amount of mucopus in the horse's trachea. Y T Cheng (LUCKYME) was not able to offer any explanation for the performance of the horse. He said LUCKYME travelled comfortably in the lead and whilst it had ALL CHANCES racing to its outside in the middle stages, the horse continued to be relaxed. He said he endeavoured to quicken after the 800 Metres, however, LUCKYME did not respond to his riding. Mr A S Cruz, trainer of LUCKYME, said the work of the horse leading into today’s race in his opinion was good and on the strength of this LUCKYME was fancied by the stable. LUCKYME was sent for an official veterinary inspection. A veterinary inspection of LUCKYME after the race did not show any significant findings. Mr Cruz accepted that the Veterinary Officer had reported LUCKYME had no significant findings following the race, however, did point out the horse did have a slight amount of mucus present in its trachea which he believed may have had some effect on the performance of LUCKYME. The performance of LUCKYME was considered unacceptable. Before being allowed to race again, LUCKYME will be required to perform to the satisfaction of the Stewards in an official barrier trial and be subjected to an official veterinary examination. FUJI SUNRISE and CRUSADER OF GOLD were sent for sampling.