Recap by phillip woo

Favourite High Volatility was too good after getting a perfectly-rated run in front. He had been knocking on the door in three prior starts at this level but will again find the opposition too rich in Class Three. Gentry stayed on nicely to finish a clear second following a one-out, one-back run. He's always a chance over this Valley trip. Mr Kool just held onto third following a box-seat run. He had every chance and is likely on or near his mark. Contribution finished well after travelling behind midfield from an outside gate to miss third by a head bob. Smart Baby ran on steadily following a rail run behind midfield to just miss a spot in the top four. He's shown progress in his past three following a step up to the Valley mile and might require an even longer trip. Clear Choice couldn't turn it up another gear following a midfield run with a step up to a mile following five pleasing 1,200m efforts. The 1,400m might better suit him better.

Racing Incident Report

Race Six: (406) - PERCIVAL HANDICAP - Class 4 - 1650Meters

ALCAZAR was withdrawn on 6.2.18 by order of the Stewards acting on veterinary advice (stiff neck) and was replaced by Standby Declared Starter GOOD CHOICE AHEAD (K C Leung).

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

AUTUMN GOLD began awkwardly.

Shortly after the start, VARA PEARL and CLEAR CHOICE raced in restricted room between SMART BABY and HIGH VOLATILITY which shifted out.

GREAT TREASURE and WONDERFUL TIGER were steadied in the early stages and shifted across behind runners.

From the outside barrier, ENORMOUS HONOUR was also shifted across behind runners in the early stages to obtain cover.

Approaching the 1500 Metres, WONDERFUL TIGER, which was racing ungenerously, got its head up when steadied away from the heels of ENORMOUS HONOUR (N Rawiller) which shifted in when not properly clear.

Whilst the Stewards accepted that the racing manners of WONDERFUL TIGER, which continued to race ungenerously at various stages throughout the race, had exacerbated the incident, nonetheless N Rawiller was reprimanded and advised to ensure that he is properly clear when shifting ground in similar circumstances.

Approaching the 1300 Metres, VARA PEARL and CLEAR CHOICE raced tight inside GENTRY.

For some distance after the 1200 Metres, WONDERFUL TIGER proved very difficult to settle and got its head up on a number of occasions.

In the early part of the Straight, VARA PEARL was awkwardly placed close to the heels of GOOD CHOICE AHEAD when being shifted to the outside of that horse.

Passing the 150 Metres, CONTRIBUTION shifted in and bumped CLEAR CHOICE.

CONTRIBUTION then continued to lay in for the remainder of the race and proved very difficult to ride.

Over the concluding stages, VARA PEARL raced tight inside SMART BABY which shifted in.

When questioned, Apprentice H T Mo stated that he was instructed by Mr A S Cruz, the trainer of CONTRIBUTION, to lead the race if possible.

He said it was felt that HIGH VOLATILITY was the only other horse which had speed sufficient to lead the race and it was felt that CONTRIBUTION would be able to obtain a forward position.

He said he was further instructed that if the rider of HIGH VOLATILITY was intent on leading, it was acceptable for him to race outside that horse.

He also added that he was instructed not to be overly aggressive on CONTRIBUTION in the early stages as the horse had previously shown an inclination to prove difficult to settle after being hard ridden.

He said CONTRIBUTION did not begin well and shifted out at the start, resulting in the horse losing ground.

He said he pushed CONTRIBUTION along in the early stages but felt that he would have had to be very aggressive on the horse to obtain a forward position and this would have been contrary to Mr Cruz's instruction.

He said therefore, rather than making use of CONTRIBUTION in an attempt to obtain a forward position, he elected to steady the horse approaching the winning post on the first occasion and obtain cover which resulted in the horse racing further back in the field than had been intended.

When questioned regarding the performance of GOOD CHOICE AHEAD, K C Leung stated that it was felt that there were only two pace influences engaged in the race, those being HIGH VOLATILITY and CONTRIBUTION and therefore there was an opportunity for GOOD CHOICE AHEAD to be ridden more prominently than had been the case due to a lack of any real speed apart from those two horses.

He said he was asked to position GOOD CHOICE AHEAD with cover behind the leaders if possible to take advantage of the anticipated slow tempo.

He said after riding his mount along in the early stages, GOOD CHOICE AHEAD was left racing wide approaching the winning post on the first occasion and when CONTRIBUTION did not take up a forward position, GOOD CHOICE AHEAD was left without cover outside the leader HIGH VOLATILITY.

He said whilst GOOD CHOICE AHEAD did not travel keenly when racing outside the leader, he was of the opinion that the horse did not appreciate racing without cover as it came under heavy pressure after the 500 Metres and then weakened out of the race in the Straight.

He added that after the race he recommended to connections that GOOD CHOICE AHEAD be ridden more conservatively to provide the horse with the opportunity to finish off its race.

Mr L Ho, the trainer of GOOD CHOICE AHEAD, will be questioned regarding the instructions provide to Jockey Leung prior to the first race at the Sha Tin racemeeting on Saturday, 10 February 2018.

A veterinary inspection of GOOD CHOICE AHEAD immediately following the race did not show any significant findings.

A veterinary inspection of AUTUMN GOLD immediately following the race did not show any significant findings, however, the horse was unable to be scoped due to being fractious.

HIGH VOLATILITY and GENTRY were sent for sampling.