Recap by phillip woo

Fight Hero came from behind midfield on the fence to overhaul Calculation in the final few strides. He loved the tempo of the race and is somewhat a freak on this surface. Punted late, Calculation held on a clear-cut second after hitting the front following a midfield run at the 250m. He appears to have more points in hand on this surface. Perpetual Treasure kept on gamely following a box-seat run to hold off Kingsfield for a placing. He does find it tough in this grade but it was a good effort chasing a hot pace. Kingsfield closed well from behind midfield in a pleasing first run on the surface. He's an honest performer to 1,400m. People's Knight was getting going late without menacing from near the back. He's better over longer trips but may be on his mark following a win two back over the 1,400m. Favourite Pick Number One found nothing and was allowed to fade out of things at the 200m following a one-out, one-back run.

Racing Incident Report

Race Nine: (750) - KAU TO SHAN HANDICAP - Class 2 - 1200Meters

SUPER TURBO was slow to begin.

KINGSFIELD shifted out at the start and bumped SHAMAL.

At the entrance to the Straight, PICK NUMBER ONE was awkwardly placed outside the heels of PERPETUAL TREASURE which shifted out.

KINGSFIELD, which was racing to the outside of PICK NUMBER ONE, was taken out and then shifted out further of its own accord and bumped CHEERFULJET, causing both horses to become unbalanced.

When questioned regarding the performance of PICK NUMBER ONE, Z Purton stated that in the lead up to today's race, he had ridden PICK NUMBER ONE in two barrier trials.

He said whilst the horse had won the first of these trials, he considered it was particularly disappointing and although the horse improved markedly in its second trial, it still did not give him the same feel as it had previously when he had ridden it in its trials on the All Weather surface.

He said in today's race PICK NUMBER ONE did not show as much early speed as SHAMAL and MOMENT OF POWER and after being crossed by those horses in the early stages appeared to resent the kickback as this was the first occasion in a race on the All Weather Track that PICK NUMBER ONE had been required to race behind runners.

He said PICK NUMBER ONE did not travel well at any stage and then making the turn after the 600 Metres got its head on the side and lay out.

He said PICK NUMBER ONE came under heavy pressure rounding the Home Turn and then, despite being ridden along, gave ground noticeably.

He said whilst he eased down the horse over the final 200 Metres, PICK NUMBER ONE was well beaten at this time and he did not ride it out in case there was any issue with the horse.

Mr C S Shum, the trainer of PICK NUMBER ONE, stated that following its last trial where the horse improved noticeably on its earlier trial, he was of the belief that the horse was making the necessary improvement to be competitive in today's race.

He said following PICK NUMBER ONE's particularly disappointing performance today, the horse would now be spelled.

He added PICK NUMBER ONE is relatively young and had risen considerably in the rankings and he believed that the horse's campaign had come to an end.

The performance of PICK NUMBER ONE, favourite for today's race, was considered unacceptable.

Before being allowed to race again, PICK NUMBER ONE will be required to perform to the satisfaction of the Stewards in a barrier trial and be subjected to an official veterinary examination.

A veterinary inspection of PICK NUMBER ONE immediately following the race did not show any significant findings.

When questioned, K Teetan stated that he had intended to obtain a forward position on CHEERFULJET and had hoped that he might be able to position his mount behind the anticipated leaders of the race SHAMAL and MOMENT OF POWER.

He said PICK NUMBER ONE was able to maintain its position one horse off the rail behind MOMENT OF POWER approaching the first turn and therefore, when racing in a three wide position, he attempted to shift CHEERFULJET across behind PICK NUMBER ONE as there was an opportunity to obtain cover behind that horse.

He said however that when he attempted to do this, CHEERFULJET immediately commenced to hang out and he was not able to shift the horse in behind PICK NUMBER ONE due to the horse's racing manners.

He said then, particularly making the turn after the 700 Metres, CHEERFULJET hung out badly and would not respond to his attempts to have it race tractably.

He said this resulted in CHEERFULJET having to race wide and without cover throughout the race.

He added CHEERFULJET came under pressure in the early part of the Straight and then did not respond to his riding thereafter.

The racing manners of CHEERFULJET, which was successful at its most recent start over the course and distance, were considered unacceptable.

Before being allowed to race again, CHEERFULJET will be required to perform to the satisfaction of the Stewards in a barrier trial around a bend and be subjected to an official veterinary examination.

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

When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of INFINITY ENDEAVOUR, B Prebble stated that after being placed in the barriers INFINITY ENDEAVOUR was fractious and then had to be ridden along for some distance in the early stages to obtain as close a position in the field as possible.

He said after being able to shift across to race in a three wide position with cover behind KING GENKI, INFINITY ENDEAVOUR travelled only fairly throughout the race and then after being placed under pressure in the Straight was disappointing in its failure to respond to his riding.

He added that, in his opinion, the fast tempo of the race did not suit INFINITY ENDEAVOUR which was up in grade today.

A veterinary inspection of INFINITY ENDEAVOUR immediately following the race did not show any significant findings.

PICK NUMBER ONE, FIGHT HERO and CALCULATION were sent for sampling.