Recap by phillip woo

In a thriller on the wire, Vincy came with a perfectly timed run to grab victory on the wire in a course record time after settling midfield on the fence for a second win from his past four starts. It was perfect execution by Harry Bentley, who was having his first ever ride at the track, in a suitably run race. Punted late, Xiang Bai Qi was nipped late after hitting the front narrowly in front of Arrogant 200m out following a prominent run. He's hit a nice patch of form following a rise in trip in his past three starts. Favourite Arrogant just lost out in a ding-dong finish after darting through along the inside to challenge for the lead 300m out after a box-seat run. He does appear from his past few runs to be heading in the right direction now. Golden Spectrum was beaten 100m out after circling the field at the 850m to briefly find the front 300m out. He's better suited at 1,800m or 2,000m. Above came up one-paced following a one-off run in midfield. He's likely on his mark. Pakistan Friend was stopping 200m out after clearing to the lead 1,900m out from a wide gate. He went too hard setting record sections with a step up in distance.

Racing Incident Report

Race One: (604) - POTTINGER HANDICAP - Class 3 - 2200Meters

In the Parade Ring, it was noted that GOLDEN SPECTRUM had blood in the mouth.

On arrival at the Start, GOLDEN SPECTRUM was examined by the Veterinary Officer who said in his opinion it was suitable to race.

After the race, Mr A S Cruz, the trainer of GOLDEN SPECTRUM, in the company of his allocated assistant trainer, Mr W K Mo, and Dr B D Stewart, Head of Veterinary Regulation, Welfare and Biosecurity Policy, were interviewed regarding this matter.

Mr Cruz was advised that the application of tongue ties to runners from his stable would be monitored in the future to ensure that they are applied in an appropriate manner.

MURRAY'S PARTNERS was steadied in the early stages to obtain cover.

DYNAMIC EAGLE was ridden along for some distance in the early stages to obtain a forward position.

When questioned, Z Purton (GOLDEN SPECTRUM) stated that passing the 1000 Metres ABOVE appeared to be awkwardly placed behind XIANG BAI QI which resulted in GOLDEN SPECTRUM improving towards the heels of ABOVE.

He said when this happened, he elected to shift out from behind ABOVE and commenced to improve his position along the Back Straight as GOLDEN SPECTRUM had previously demonstrated when ridden by him to be one-paced and rather than be awkwardly placed behind ABOVE, he believed it was in the horse's best interests to commence to improve its position even though the race was still being run at a good tempo.

He added when he had been previously successful on GOLDEN SPECTRUM, he had made a sustained run on the horse from the 600 Metres and therefore he felt that it would be available to the horse to improve its position after the 900 Metres tonight to obtain a more forward positon outside the lead prior to the turn near the 600 Metres.

After the race, M Chadwick stated that, up in grade tonight, DYNAMIC EAGLE struggled with the pace of the race in the early and middle stages and came under pressure after the 1000 Metres to hold its position.

He said he had to ride his mount vigorously approaching the 700 Metres, however, DYNAMIC EAGLE did not respond to his riding and after this gave ground.

A veterinary inspection of DYNAMIC EAGLE immediately following the race did not show any significant findings.

The performance of DYNAMIC EAGLE, a winner of its two most recent starts and which finished towards the rear of the field, was considered unacceptable.

Before being allowed to race again, DYNAMIC EAGLE 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 MURRAY'S PARTNERS immediately following the race did not show any significant findings.

The performance of MURRAY'S PARTNERS, which finished tailed out, was considered unacceptable.

Before being allowed to race again, MURRAY'S PARTNERS 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 PAKISTAN FRIEND immediately following the race found that horse to be a "roarer??which had previously been reported.

ARROGANT, VINCY and XIANG BAI QI were sent for sampling.