Recap by phillip woo

Matthew Poon Ming-fai did not panic on leader Good Companion when shaded to his outside by Very Rich Man at the 800m, retook the front rounding the final bend and staged off a challenge by Roman Odyssey for a third win this term. The writing had been on the wall in his past two starts. Roman Odyssey finished well following a prominent run on the fence. He should be able to get away with a race at this level next season. Bundle Of Energy came with a bold move after settling fourth from the rear to finish a very close third in a vastly-improved effort at this third start. Punted late Love Chunghwa closed nicely along the inside settling last from a wide gate. He can pop up at any moment off his current mark. Dr Race had his chance following a midfield run on the fence. He's more effective over the 1,000m. Favourite Formula Galore came to win the race at the 200m travelling one-off with cover worse than midfield but peaked on his run 100m out.

Racing Incident Report

Race Three: (772) - CARNATION HANDICAP - Class 4 - 1200Meters

BUNDLE OF ENERGY shifted out at the start and bumped ROMAN ODYSSEY.

From the outside barrier, LOVE CHUNGHWA was shifted across behind runners in the early stages.

When being shifted across behind runners from a wide barrier in the early stages, BEST RUNNER shifted in and bumped the hindquarters of CALIFORNIA ELITE near the 1150 Metres, causing both horses to become badly unbalanced.

Passing the 1100 Metres, LUNAR ZEPHYR raced tight between GOOD COMPANION and VERY RICH MAN which shifted in marginally.

LUNAR ZEPHYR then bumped GOOD COMPANION which consequently shifted in, resulting in ROMAN ODYSSEY being inconvenienced.

Making the turn after the 1100 Metres, BUNDLE OF ENERGY raced in restricted room between FORMULA GALORE and FOX CHEUNGER which got its head on the side and shifted in away from CALIFORNIA ELITE.

This resulted in BUNDLE OF ENERGY losing ground when being steadied away from the heels of FORMULA GALORE approaching the 1000 Metres.

Approaching the 700 Metres, CALIFORNIA ELITE was left racing wide and without cover and after the 700 Metres commenced to lay out.

CALIFORNIA ELITE then hung out rounding the Home Turn.

Shortly after entering the Straight, ROMAN ODYSSEY was shifted in away from the heels of GOOD COMPANION in an attempt to obtain clear running.

ROMAN ODYSSEY was then awkwardly placed inside the heels of GOOD COMPANION for a short distance after the 50 Metres due to GOOD COMPANION shifting in marginally.

In this incident, DR RACE momentarily raced in restricted room inside ROMAN ODYSSEY.

Passing the 300 Metres, LUNAR ZEPHYR raced tight inside FORMULA GALORE.

LUNAR ZEPHYR then commenced to give ground and approaching the 100 Metres was steadied away from the heels of VERY RICH MAN which shifted out.

Passing the 200 Metres, FOX CHEUNGER shifted out and bumped the hindquarters of PAKISTAN BABY.

Passing the 100 Metres, DR RACE and LOVE CHUNGHWA raced tight.

When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of LUNAR ZEPHYR, D Whyte stated that his mount travelled in a similar manner in the early and middle stages to its last start.

He said however that after the 500 Metres LUNAR ZEPHYR came under pressure and then rounding the Home Turn rather than quickening nicely as it did last start came under heavy pressure and immediately shortened stride.

He added whilst he was not able to detect any lameness issue with LUNAR ZEPHYR, nonetheless the horse did not stretch out over the final stages of the race.

A veterinary inspection of LUNAR ZEPHYR immediately following the race found that horse to be lame in its left front leg.

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

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

FORMULA GALORE, GOOD COMPANION and ROMAN ODYSSEY were sent for sampling.