Place	Horse No	Horse Name	Jockey	Trainer	Rate	Weight	ON	RD	Draw	Margin	Time	In Running	Section Time
1	11	JOYFUL HEART (C227)	Z. Purton	F. C. Lor	50	123	3.6	2.3	4		1:22:15	8-8-5-1	36.03 23.05 23.07
2	5	CIRCUIT THREE (B360)	C. Schofield	A. S. Cruz	55	128	16	27	12	SH	1:22:16	14-14-12-2	36.79 22.85 22.52
3	4	BETTER CHOICE (A383)	J. Moreira	D. Whyte	55	128	6.1	5.6	5	1.5	1:22:38	5-6-7-3	35.91 23.21 23.26
4	13	VITAL SPRING (A057)	C. Y. Ho	K. W. Lui	47	120	9	11	3	2	1:22:48	9-10-8-4	36.19 23.13 23.16
5	3	SONIC FIGHTER (A187)	N. Callan	P. O'Sullivan	57	130	16	14	9	2.25	1:22:53	10-11-9-5	36.19 23.21 23.13
6	6	SHOUSON (C326)	S. De Sousa	J. Moore	54	127	6.8	16	7	3	1:22:63	6-5-4-6	35.75 23.17 23.71
7	2	WAR LORD (C113)	K. Teetan	John Size	58	131	12	10	2	3	1:22:63	2-4-3-7	35.55 23.33 23.75
8	1	EMERALD SPUR (B258)	G. van Niekerk	P. F. Yiu	60	133	6.4	6.5	11	3.25	1:22:66	13-12-10-8	36.51 22.93 23.22
9	9	VOYAGE STAR (C098)	K. C. Leung	T. P. Yung	51	124	29	39	1	4	1:22:80	1-1-1-9	35.19 23.53 24.08
10	7	SUNSHINE UNIVERSE (A130)	M. F. Poon	R. Gibson	53	124	19	31	8	9	1:23:59	3-2-2-10	35.31 23.53 24.75
11	14	MY FAMILY (C187)	K. H. Chan	Y. S. Tsui	53	116	46	44	14	10.5	1:23:85	4-3-6-11	35.55 23.53 24.77
12	12	REGENCY POET (D010)	A. Badel	K. L. Man	53	126	31	50	10	15.75	1:24:69	11-9-13-12	36.19 23.53 24.97
13	8	MILLENNIUM DAWN (C459)	H. T. Mo	L. Ho	52	122	57	99	6	16	1:24:70	12-13-14-13	36.79 23.33 24.58
14	10	FLYING EMPEROR (C156)	H. N. Wong	C. W. Chang	50	120	99	99	13	17.25	1:24:90	7-7-11-14	35.95 23.49 25.46

Sire:Smart Missile

Breed of the Winning Horse:JOYFUL HEART

Dam:Snowy World

Pool	Winning Combination	Dividend (HK$)
win	11	23.5
place	11	14
	5	64
	4	19.5
quinella	5-11	311
quinella place	5-11	108
	4-11	30
	4-5	215.5
3 pick 1 (Composite Win)	A1	16.5
tierce	11-5-4	1848
trio	4-5-11	488
first 4	4-5-11-13	720
quartet	11-5-4-13	12259
4th double	(2-11)	$835.5
4th double consulation	(2-5)	$790.5

Recap by phillip woo

Favourite Joyful Heart just held off Circuit Three by a bob of the heads for the win after surging to the lead 180m out travelling one-off behind midfield. Circuit Three came from last at the 450m to make it a thriller on the wire. It was a terrific first-up run after a victory in July and he has room to head higher. Better Choice was held up for a run until the 200m after ducking to the inside at the 300m following a midfield run. Vital Spring came on well from behind midfield on the fence to fill the frame. He's been in the thick of the finish three times after a Class Five win. Sonic Fighter ran on without menacing travelling fifth from the back in first-time blinkers. Shouson came up flat travelling better than midfield. It was a typical effort. War Lord had every chance and came up flat chasing the speed on the fence tackling an extra 200m. Emerald Spur ran on without menacing settling third from the back. The big weight seemed to anchor him.

Racing Incident Report

Race Five: (298) - POPLAR HANDICAP - Class 4 - 1400Meters

DIGITAL TRIUMPH was withdrawn on 31.12.19 by order of the Stewards acting on veterinary advice (lame right fore with a quarter crack) and was replaced by first Standby Declared Starter REGENCY POET (A Badel).

SIMPLY FLUKE was also withdrawn on 31.12.19 by order of the Stewards acting on veterinary advice (lame left fore) and was replaced by second Standby Declared Starter MY FAMILY (Apprentice K H Chan).

Before being allowed to race again, DIGITAL TRIUMPH and SIMPLY FLUKE will be subjected to an official veterinary examination.

JOYFUL HEART and VITAL SPRING bumped at the start.

MILLENNIUM DAWN began awkwardly, shifted out and bumped SHOUSON which became unbalanced.

From wide barriers, REGENCY POET, EMERALD SPUR and CIRCUIT THREE were all shifted across behind runners in the early stages.

SONIC FIGHTER was also steadied shortly after the start to obtain cover.

Passing the 1200 Metres, JOYFUL HEART got its head up when travelling keenly and awkwardly placed behind SHOUSON.

MILLENNIUM DAWN, which was having its first race start today, raced greenly and making the turn after the 900 Metres got its head on the side and shifted out and then lost ground when reluctant to maintain its position.

Near the 800 Metres, FLYING EMPEROR was left racing wide and without cover.

After shifting in to race behind FLYING EMPEROR near the 800 Metres, REGENCY POET commenced to travel keenly and near the 750 Metres shifted out abruptly away from the heels of that horse and consequently travelled wide and without cover.

SUNSHINE UNIVERSE lay out rounding the Home Turn.

Passing the 400 Metres, BETTER CHOICE was shifted to the inside of WAR LORD to continue improving.

BETTER CHOICE then had some difficulty obtaining clear running approaching the 250 Metres.

Approaching the 200 Metres, SONIC FIGHTER was awkwardly placed outside the heels of VITAL SPRING which shifted out from behind SHOUSON to obtain clear running.

In the Straight, EMERALD SPUR raced with its head on the side and lay in and near the 200 Metres shifted in away from CIRCUIT THREE.

EMERALD SPUR was then awkwardly placed inside CIRCUIT THREE approaching the 150 Metres.

Over the concluding stages, CIRCUIT THREE shifted out and away from JOYFUL HEART which shifted out under pressure.

A veterinary inspection of MILLENNIUM DAWN, FLYING EMPEROR and REGENCY POET immediately following the race did not show any significant findings.

JOYFUL HEART and CIRCUIT THREE were sent for sampling.