Recap by phillip woo

Romantic Bonanza wore down Grand Harbour in deep stretch for the win after easing out of a speed battle to sit better than midfield on the fence. He relished a switch to the dirt. Old-timer Grand Harbour wouldn't go down without a fight after working hard early on to lead from a tricky gate 1,380m out. Remarkable closing off a non-threatening third after travelling second from the rear. He's having trouble recapturing top form so far this term but is back in the right class. King's Man came up flat 150m out with his move from a position one-off the fence in midfield. The big weight continues to anchor him and he seems to go better over the 1,800m nowadays. King Of Mongolia got going very late after being ridden along at the rear of the field. He too is better suited over the 1,800m. Smart Rocket was gone before the final bend after rushing forward to sit deep near the speed at the 1,100m following a slow start. He's destined for Class Five.

Racing Incident Report

Race One: (291) - LEK YUEN HANDICAP - Class 4 - 1650Meters

KING OF MONGOLIA stumbled at the start and then lost ground when crowded for room outside KING'S MAN which was taken out by BLACK TECH.

In this incident, ROMANTIC BONANZA became unbalanced after being bumped on the hindquarters by KING OF MONGOLIA.

After the 1400 Metres, BLACK TECH got its head up when travelling keenly.

Also after the 1400 Metres, REMARKABLE was steadied away from the heels of KING'S MAN which, after being steadied to allow LOTUS BREEZE to cross, was momentarily awkwardly placed behind that horse.

Rounding the Home Turn, KING'S MAN and REMARKABLE raced tight.

Approaching the 200 Metres, KING'S MAN raced tight inside the heels of REMARKABLE which got its head on the side and lay in under pressure.

Near the 150 Metres, KING'S MAN was momentarily eased away from the heels of ROMANTIC BONANZA which shifted out.

When questioned, M Chadwick stated that he was asked to obtain a forward position on SMART ROCKET and lead if possible.

He said it was explained to him that SMART ROCKET is one-paced and therefore being able to dictate the terms of the race would be to the horse's advantage.

He said after being restless in the stalls SMART ROCKET began awkwardly and lost ground which resulted in it being back in the field in the early stages.

He said when crossed by REMARKABLE a short distance after the start SMART ROCKET was awkwardly placed behind that horse and he was of the view that he would have had to steady SMART ROCKET to remain racing behind REMARKABLE.

He said when he observed ART OF RAW racing wide in advance of SMART ROCKET, he elected to improve around REMARKABLE to follow ART OF RAW around the turn.

He said when ART OF RAW pressed on to race outside the lead, this resulted in SMART ROCKET being left racing three wide and without cover until after the 1200 Metres.

He added when this happened, he allowed SMART ROCKET to continue improving its position to shift in and race outside the leader GRAND HARBOUR after the 800 Metres.

He said making the turn near the 700 Metres SMART ROCKET came under pressure and commenced to lay out, however, he felt at this time SMART ROCKET was not concentrating rather than coming under pressure due to it being ridden forward in the middle stages.

He said after this, despite being ridden along, SMART ROCKET did not respond to his riding and weakened noticeably rounding the Home Turn.

After the race, an endoscopic examination was conducted on LOTUS BREEZE at the request of Trainer W Y So.

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

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

REMARKABLE, ROMANTIC BONANZA and GRAND HARBOUR were sent for sampling.