Recap by phillip woo

Supreme Flight punched through to lead narrowly along the fence passing the 800m, was headed by Multimax 200m out and fought back to regain the front and victory 100m out to give his trainer Tony Millard a 500th win in Hong Kong. Multimax was kept one off the fence after jumping alertly from gate six, worked to a narrow lead at the 200m and found one who wanted it more in the end. Gentry produced a nice ducking-andweaving run after straightening four deep to come from last to snatch a placing at a price. He's one to keep safe when next stepping out. Happy Fiery Dragon settled fourth along the fence, angled three deep for a clear run at the 300m and was overhauled in the final strides for a placing. Perpetual Joyance travelled three deep with cover in midfield, improved his position out deep at the 500m and stayed on reasonably well to pick up a minor cheque. He's still showing greenness in the run.

Racing Incident Report

Race Four: (548)-DONGCHENG DISTRICT HANDICAP - Class 4 - 1200Metres

The start was delayed when MUTUAL JOY proved difficult to load.

Before being allowed to race again, MUTUAL JOY will be required to perform satisfactorily in a stalls test.

RAPIDASH and FORMULA GALORE bumped a short distance after the start.

Shortly after the start, CRICKET VICI became unbalanced after being bumped by HAPPY FIERY DRAGON.

From the outside barrier, GENTRY was steadied in the early stages and shifted across behind runners.

Near the 900 Metres, MUTUAL JOY was steadied when momentarily racing in restricted room inside MR PICASSO which was then shifted out to relieve the pressure.

Shortly after entering the Straight, GENTRY was shifted out away from the heels of RAPIDASH.

Passing the 250 Metres, GENTRY and HAPPY SOUND raced tight as GENTRY improved into narrow running inside MR PICASSO.

Approaching the 150 Metres, GENTRY, which was closing off well, was shifted out away from the heels of FORMULA GALORE to continue improving and then near the 100 Metres got its head on the side and shifted out marginally, resulting in MR PICASSO, which was giving ground, being inconvenienced.

Throughout the race, HAPPY SOUND travelled wide and without cover.

When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of MR PICASSO, J Moreira stated that he had been asked to ride the horse positively from barrier 10 in an attempt to obtain a position in advance of midfield.

He said after beginning only fairly, he rode his mount aggressively in the early stages and he had to ride it along for some distance to clear runners to its inside.

He said he was able to obtain a position behind the speed rounding the first turn near the 900 Metres, however, MR PICASSO travelled only fairly and appeared to him not to be appreciating the track surface.

He said MR PICASSO quickened briefly shortly after entering the Straight, however, after the 300 Metres came under pressure and then was disappointing in the manner in which it failed to finish off the race.

He added, in his opinion, the disappointing performance of MR PICASSO could be attributed to the horse's failure to handle the track surface as well as having to be aggressively ridden to cross from barrier 10 in the early stages.

A veterinary inspection of MR PICASSO immediately following the race did not show any significant findings.

After the race, an endoscopic examination was conducted on RAPIDASH at the request of Trainer C W Chang.

The Veterinary Surgeon reported that this examination showed a substantial amount of blood in the horse's trachea.

Before being allowed to race again, RAPIDASH will be subjected to an official veterinary examination.

MR PICASSO, SUPREME FLIGHT and MULTIMAX were sent for sampling.