Recap by phillip woo

Ridden for luck from a wide gate, Namjong Plus came with barnstorming run to run down the late-plunged Vigor Fame in the shadows of the post to up his record to five wins from 14 starts. He really loves this Valley trip. Vigor Fame did everything right but get the win after tracking the leader Jolly Gene one-off the fence. It was a vastly improved effort on his past seven starts so hopefully this is a sign of things to come. Helene Charisma was held up and tight for room at the 200m when trying to wind up from behind midfield. He should have finished closer. Rickfield ran on late down the outside following a patient ride second from the rear. He's getting down to an attractive mark and can pop up shortly over this course. Sangria peaked on his run 100m out after taking off near the outside following a patient ride third from the back to just miss a Quartet spot. Bigwood stayed on without menacing making his run outside Helene Charisma. The big weight's no help.

Racing Incident Report

Race Seven: (364) - SOUTHORN HANDICAP - Class 3 - 1800Meters

BIGWOOD shifted out at the start and hampered NAMJONG PLUS.

GOLDFIELD began only fairly.

Passing the 1600 Metres, HELENE CHARISMA was bumped by BIGWOOD (Z Purton) which shifted in.

HELENE CHARISMA and BIGWOOD then raced tight for some distance, resulting in HELENE CHARISMA being awkwardly placed outside the heels of PING HAI TREASURE.

Z Purton was severely reprimanded and advised that he must not shift his mounts in at such an angle which results in other horses being hampered.

Passing the winning post on the first occasion, ROCKETEER was eased away from the heels of GOLDFIELD which was awkwardly placed inside JOLLY GENE.

Approaching the 1300 Metres, as VIGOR FAME (M F Poon) was being crossed by JOLLY GENE, VIGOR FAME lay in momentarily, resulting in PLANET STAR being crowded, striking the running rail and becoming badly unbalanced.

VIGOR FAME was then directed out away from PLANET STAR to relieve the tightening to that horse which resulted in GOLDFIELD being taken wider.

PING HAI TREASURE, which was following PLANET STAR, was hampered in consequence whilst ROCKETEER, which was racing behind VIGOR FAME, was steadied away from the heels of that horse.

M F Poon was advised that whilst there were some circumstances to this incident, namely that he was being mindful of being crossed by JOLLY GENE at this time and that after his mount shifting in, he immediately corrected VIGOR FAME to relieve the crowding to PLANET STAR, nonetheless he must ensure that he makes every endeavour to prevent his mounts from shifting ground, causing crowding to other runners.

Making the turn after the 600 Metres, PING HAI TREASURE raced tight inside ROCKETEER which got its head on the side and lay in away from GOLDFIELD.

Passing the 300 Metres, HELENE CHARISMA was shifted to the inside of GOLDFIELD in an attempt to obtain clear running.

HELENE CHARISMA was then badly held up for clear running when improving into a tight run between ROCKETEER and GOLDFIELD which, when commencing to give ground, shifted in marginally.

In this incident, HELENE CHARISMA bumped the hindquarters of ROCKETEER which became unbalanced.

Approaching the 200 Metres, BIGWOOD got its head on the side and shifted out under pressure.

Throughout the race, GOLDFIELD travelled wide and without cover and in the Straight gave ground.

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

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

BIGWOOD, NAMJONG PLUS and VIGOR FAME were sent for sampling.