SHOCKED racegoers gathered round television screens at Sha Tin racecourse yesterday to view from a number of angles the shocking fourth-race fall which has left apprentice Philip C.T. Cheng fighting for his life.
The 20-year-old Cheng crashed to the ground from For My Wishes in a 1,400-metre race that was just another event on a routine Saturday Sha Tin card. But it cast a blight over the rest of the nine-race meeting as racegoers realised - and it was obvious - that this was a very serious fall.
Director of racing Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges said: 'When something like this happens - and it is always possible in racing - it is really terrible.
'All we ever want is good, clean racing with excitement, good horses and good finishes. But when this happens, it is very sad.'
The Prince Of Wales Hospital, where Cheng underwent a three-hour operation for brain damage, said last night that his condition was critical and the stipendiary stewards' panel of the Jockey Club established preliminary findings but stressed no conclusions had been drawn.
The Chicago Handicap for horses rated between 72 and 48 was for Class Three prizemoney and a fairly mundane race.
