Recap by phillip woo

Veteran Starship got up near the 100m for the win after biding his time one-off travelling behind midfield. He's capable of big runs but is hard to get right on his day. Favourite Leap Of Faith found one better on the day after hitting the front 250m out travelling midfield on the fence following a slow start. Longshot Party Everyday flashed home from a distant last and widest out to nearly take second in his best run to date. Villa Fionn ran on well to just miss a placing after getting posted three-deep with cover behind midfield. It was a good effort following a last-start win. Sunny Power made some ground without menacing after making his run four back on the fence. Spirit Patch gradually faded after hitting the front 400m out following a breeze-punching run outside the leader Smiling Success. He's improving. Wood On Fire plodded over the final 300m after copping a sharp bump rounding the final bend following a one-off run in midfield.

Racing Incident Report

Race Four: (297) - WILLOW HANDICAP - Class 4 - 1600Meters

LEAP OF FAITH was crowded for room at the start between WITNESS HUNTER and STARSHIP which shifted in.

PARTY EVERYDAY began only fairly and then shifted out abruptly at the start and bumped the hindquarters of SPIRIT PATCH, causing PARTY EVERYDAY to lose ground and SPIRIT PATCH to become unbalanced.

From the outside barrier, SAVVY SEVEN was shifted across behind runners in the early stages.

Shortly after the start, PARTY EVERYDAY commenced to travel keenly and got its head up on a number of occasions and near the 1300 Metres shifted out across the heels of VILLA FIONN.

When being steadied to obtain cover approaching and passing the 1300 Metres, SHANGHAI DRAGON got its head up and travelled keenly.

Near the 1200 Metres, TOUCH OF FAITH was left racing wide and without cover.

Near the 550 Metres, WOOD ON FIRE and LEAP OF FAITH raced tight as LEAP OF FAITH improved to the outside of WITNESS HUNTER.

Z Purton (LEAP OF FAITH) pleaded guilty to a charge of careless riding [Rule 100(1)] in that rounding the Home Turn he directed his mount out when not clear of WOOD ON FIRE, resulting in LEAP OF FAITH bumping WOOD ON FIRE and causing that horse to become unbalanced and shift out across the running of STARSHIP which was checked out away from the heels of WOOD ON FIRE, shifted out and in turn inconvenienced TOUCH OF FAITH.

Z Purton was suspended from riding in races for a period to commence on Saturday, 11 January 2020 and to expire on Thursday, 16 January 2020 on which day he may resume race riding (2 Hong Kong racedays).

In assessing penalty, the Stewards took into account Jockey Purton's good race riding record.

WITNESS HUNTER was held up for clear running in the early part of the Straight.

Passing the 300 Metres, SAVVY SEVEN and WITNESS HUNTER raced tight as SAVVY SEVEN improved into tight running between SMILING SUCCESS and WITNESS HUNTER which was taken in by SHANGHAI DRAGON.

SAVVY SEVEN and WITNESS HUNTER then continued to race tight and passing the 200 Metres SAVVY SEVEN was bumped by WITNESS HUNTER which received contact from SHANGHAI DRAGON which, when commencing to give ground, shifted in.

PARTY EVERYDAY lost its right front plate after the race.

A veterinary inspection of JOY MASTER 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 SHANGHAI DRAGON immediately following the race including an endoscopic examination showed a substantial amount of blood in the horse's trachea.

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

STARSHIP and LEAP OF FAITH were sent for sampling.