Recap by phillip woo

It was a real good ride by Alexei Badel on Unicorn who kept on gamely for the win after taking off at the 800m from near the back to lead 600m out. He's not easy to get right but the move to a tongue-tie certainly helped. Thumped late, Spicy Sure ducked underneath a tiring runner at the 250m following a rails run worse than midfield to grab second. He's another who's not easy to get right on his day but can pop up at times. Friends Of Ka Ying finished well along the inside after travelling near the back to place. The drop in grade was the key to his improved run. Ensuring finished well down the outside after travelling second from the rear in a pleasing first run this term. He certainly needed the run and is crying out for a further trip. Sensation stayed on all right following a prominent run along the rails. He never runs a bad race but appears from recent runs to be on his mark following an opening win at Sha Tin. Favourite Magical Beauty was hustled to land a handy spot with cover but failed to let down when asked for an effort in the drive. He's finding it tough off around his current mark and is risky at shot odds.

Racing Incident Report

Race Three: (420)-KING KWONG HANDICAP - Class 3 - 1650Metres

ME PELE, first Standby Declared Starter, was withdrawn on 14.2.17 by order of the Stewards acting on veterinary advice (right fore medial suspensory branch injury).

GOODHEART SUCCESS was also withdrawn on 14.2.17 by order of the Stewards acting on veterinary advice (lame left fore) and was replaced by second Standby Declared Starter SPICY SURE (Apprentice K K Chiong).

Before being allowed to race again, MR PELE and GOODHEART SUCCESS will be subjected to an official veterinary examination.

SENSATION, which proved difficult to load, will be required to perform satisfactorily in a stalls test before being allowed to race again.

PERFECT LIFELINE and SPICY SURE bumped at the start.

Shortly after the start, MAGICAL BEAUTY was bumped by SENSATION which was taken out by FRIENDS OF KA YING.

From the outside barriers, UNICORN and DIVINE BOY were shifted across behind runners in the early stages.

After being aggressively ridden in the early stages to cross runners to its inside, A BEAUTIFUL travelled keenly in the lead and got its head up and shifted out near the 1100 Metres.

A BEAUTIFUL then continued to travel strongly in the lead for some distance after this.

Approaching the 1300 Metres, MR GENUINE, which was laying out, was bumped by PERFECT LIFELINE which shifted out away from the heels of SPICY SURE.

Approaching the winning post on the first occasion, MR GENUINE got its head up when being checked away from the heels of FANTASTIC KAKA which got its head on the side and shifted in away from SENSATION.

S de Sousa (A BEAUTIFUL) was found guilty of a charge of careless riding [Rule 100(1)] in that approaching and passing the winning post on the first occasion he permitted his mount to shift in when not clear of MAGICAL BEAUTY, causing that horse to be taken in onto SENSATION which was bumped by MAGICAL BEAUTY and forced in across the rightful running of FANTASTIC KAKA which was checked and also resulting in SPICY SURE being checked when crowded for room inside SENSATION.

S de Sousa was suspended from riding in races for a period to commence on Wednesday, 22 February 2017 and to expire on Monday, 27 February 2017 on which day he may resume race riding (2 Hong Kong racedays).

In addition, S de Sousa was fined $75,000.

Approaching the 800 Metres, ENSURING got its head up when being checked away from the heels of PERFECT LIFELINE.

Also approaching the 800 Metres, MR GENUINE got its head up when being checked away from the heels of FANTASTIC KAKA.

FRIENDS OF KA YING was hampered in consequence and DIVINE BOY, which was following FRIENDS OF KA YING, was shifted out away from the heels of that horse.

Making the turn after the 600 Metres, PERFECT LIFELINE momentarily raced in restricted room inside FRIENDS OF KA YING which was racing tight inside FANTASTIC KAKA which shifted in after being brushed by MR GENUINE.

Approaching the 400 Metres, MAGICAL BEAUTY was awkwardly placed close to the heels of DR WIN WIN.

FANTASTIC KAKA, which was following MAGICAL BEAUTY, was steadied away from the heels of that horse in consequence and in turn lay in, resulting in FRIENDS OF KA YING being crowded for room.

A BEAUTIFUL lay out under pressure in the early part of the Straight.

FANTASTIC KAKA was held up for clear running passing the 300 Metres when awkwardly placed behind DR WIN WIN.

After the 300 Metres, FRIENDS OF KA YING was shifted in away from the heels of SPICY SURE to obtain clear running and near the 250 Metres raced tight inside that horse which subsequently shifted to the inside of SENSATION to improve.

When questioned, N Rawiller stated that he had been asked to ride FRIENDS OF KA YING in about a midfield position.

He said the horse had been ridden quietly in a recent barrier trial and performed well and it was felt that being ridden from off the speed tonight would provide FRIENDS OF KA YING with the opportunity to close off the race.

He said due to the makeup of the field, in the early stages he had to steady FRIENDS OF KA YING to obtain a position behind MR GENUINE after initially racing wide outside that horse.

He said this resulted in FRIENDS OF KA YING racing slightly further back than had been intended.

He said when the tempo of the race slackened approaching the 800 Metres, FRIENDS OF KA YING was shuffled back through the field and then after obtaining clear running in the early part of the Straight finished off the race well.

Trainer P O'Sullivan confirmed the riding instructions given to Jockey Rawiller and stated that he had been disappointed with the manner in which FRIENDS OF KA YING had been finishing off its races when ridden in a forward position since he commenced training the horse five starts ago.

He said for this reason the horse was ridden from off the speed in a barrier trial on 3 February 2017 and as he was satisfied with the manner in which FRIENDS OF KA YING had performed in this trial, it was decided to ride the horse in about a midfield positon tonight if possible.

He added having regard to the manner in which FRIENDS OF KA YING finished off the race, he was satisfied that the horse may be better suited by these tactics, however, its future positioning would depend on the circumstances of the race.

After the race, an endoscopic examination was conducted on DIVINE BOY at the request of Trainer Y S Tsui.

The Veterinary Surgeon said this examination showed a substantial amount of blood in the horse's trachea.

Before being allowed to race again, DIVINE BOY will be subjected to an official veterinary examination.

A veterinary inspection of FRIENDS OF KA YING and A BEAUTIFUL immediately following the race did not show any significant findings.

A veterinary inspection of MAGICAL BEAUTY 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, MAGICAL BEAUTY will be subjected to an official veterinary examination.

MAGICAL BEAUTY, UNICORN and SPICY SURE were sent for sampling.