Recap by phillip woo

Takingufurther led and never looked back to win with plenty in hand in a return to form after his next-to-nothing show in his opening three starts. He's won two of seven starts but has trouble stringingtogether two good runs. Compassion Star ran on well to clearly take second at the 200m following a one-out, one-back run. Destine Jewellery took the short route home from midfield to just grab third. The inside gate made a big difference on his past few. Focus ran on well down the outside after a one-off run from behind midfield to just miss a placing. Breeders' Sky came up one-paced following a box-seat run in his first-time blinkers. He had no excuse. Daily Delight wasn't beaten far with a steady bid from midfield. It wasn't a bad effort on debut. Shimmer And Shine didn't do much after a rail run beyond midfield. Raging favourite California Rad ran on without menacing after making his run second from the rear following a slow start.

Racing Incident Report

Race Three: (411) - SAI KUNG HANDICAP - Class 4 - 1200Meters

At declaration time, M L Yeung was declared as the rider of both TAKINGUFURTHER and HAPPY PROJECT.

It was established that M L Yeung had a firm commitment to ride TAKINGUFURTHER.

As such, the Stewards permitted H T Mo to be substituted as the rider of HAPPY PROJECT.

For this declaration error, Trainer T P Yung was fined $2,000.

BREEDERS' SKY shifted out at the start and bumped COMPASSION STAR.

SHIMMER AND SHINE and WILLFUL, which began only fairly, bumped on jumping.

FOCUS shifted out at the start and bumped FANTASTIC FABIO.

From the outside barriers, HAPPY PROJECT and PLIKCLONE were shifted across behind runners in the early stages.

Near the 1150 Metres, BREEDERS' SKY shifted out and bumped COMPASSION STAR.

Near the 250 Metres, DAILY DELIGHT was awkwardly placed outside the heels of FANTASTIC FABIO which shifted out when commencing to give ground.

After the race, Apprentice K H Chan stated that he had to do a lot of work on FANTASTIC FABIO to obtain a forward position.

He said in the Straight FANTASTIC FABIO was then not able to finish off the race and gave ground over the concluding stages.

A veterinary inspection of FANTASTIC FABIO immediately following the race did not show any significant findings.

When questioned, C Schofield stated that at its last start FOCUS was ridden forward from the outside barrier and he had to do a lot of work to clear runners to its inside which resulted in the horse weakening over the latter stages of the race.

He said, from barrier 9 tonight, it was felt that there were a number of runners drawn more favourably than FOCUS which had raced in a prominent position in previous races and therefore if FOCUS were to be ridden for speed tonight, the horse would again have to do too much work and would not be able to finish off the race.

He said when it was suggested to him by the trainer that FOCUS be ridden more quietly tonight, C Schofield said he agreed with this tactic as he felt that this would provide FOCUS with the best opportunity to close off the race.

He said after steadying FOCUS in the early stages, he was able to obtain a midfield position with cover passing the 1000 Metres and FOCUS then finished off the race well in the Straight.

When questioned regarding the performance of CALIFORNIA RAD, J Moreira stated that it was intended for the horse to be ridden behind the leaders from barrier

2.

He said after being loaded into the barriers, CALIFORNIA RAD was fractious and would not stand still.

He said as the start was effected, CALIFORNIA RAD got its head up and then lifted its front feet off the ground and consequently did not begin well.

He said this resulted in CALIFORNIA RAD racing well back in the field in the early stages.

He said he had to ride CALIFORNIA RAD continuously throughout the early and middle stages in an attempt to have the horse improve its position, however, CALIFORNIA RAD did not travel well at any stage of the race and would not respond to his riding.

He added after the 600 Metres CALIFORNIA RAD lay in towards the running rail and was reluctant to shift to the outside of SHIMMER AND SHINE and he was required to ride the horse hard rounding the Home Turn to have it shift to the outside of runners as he felt that, given the manner in which CALIFORNIA RAD had travelled throughout the race, it may finish off better if able to be shifted to the outside in the Straight.

He said whilst CALIFORNIA RAD did make up some ground in the Straight, the horse was never finishing off strongly enough to be placed and its performance was very disappointing.

He said after the race there was nothing obvious that he could detect which indicated that CALIFORNIA RAD was not sound and the horse returned to the unsaddling area normally.

Mr A S Cruz, the trainer of CALIFORNIA RAD, said the horse had done well since its last start and he anticipated that it would perform well tonight.

He said he noted that the pace of the race was quicker tonight in the early stages than at its last start and that this may account for CALIFORNIA RAD not travelling comfortably after beginning badly.

He said having in mind the manner in which CALIFORNIA RAD began and was reluctant to improve its position in the early and middle stages, he would consider adding blinkers to the horse's gear in its future starts.

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

The performance of CALIFORNIA RAD, favourite for tonight's race, was considered unacceptable.

Before being allowed to race again, CALIFORNIA RAD will be required to perform to the satisfaction of the Stewards in a barrier trial and be subjected to an official veterinary examination.

A veterinary inspection of HAPPY PROJECT immediately following the race did not show any significant findings.

CALIFORNIA RAD, TAKINGUFURTHER and COMPASSION STAR were sent for sampling.