Recap by phillip woo

Charity Go got up in deep stretch for the win after getting a lovely ride in the box-seat from Mathew Poon Ming-fai. He had been racing very well at Sha Tin all season and the switch to Happy Valley worked the oracle. Savaquin just found one too good after biding his time one from the rear. He keeps promising without delivering this season. Favourite Money Catcher found a couple just too good after briefly poking his head in front a few metres from the wire following a pace-stalking run without cover. It was a solid effort trying the Valley for the first time following placings in the Classic Cup and Derby. Well-backed late, Telecom Fighters was just knocked off late after getting a well-judged ride in front by Zac Purton. He just doesn't quite get the 1,800m. Looking Great plugged on to finish next best without menacing the top-four following a handy run one off the fence. It was another honest effort but he seems to prefer Sha Tin. Sunny Star ran on steadily without ever looking a threat after travelling at the rear in the seven-horse field. He hasn't been as sharp in recent runs. Enjoying will sleep well after getting caught three-wide without cover chasing the speed the entire trip.

Racing Incident Report

Race Four: (560) - CHATER HANDICAP - Class 2 - 1800Meters

ENJOYING shifted out away from SUNNY STAR on jumping and in doing so brushed the hindquarters of TELECOM FIGHTERS, resulting in that horse becoming unbalanced and ENJOYING losing ground.

SAVAQUIN was steadied in the early stages to obtain cover.

Passing the 1300 Metres, CHARITY GO commenced to travel keenly and got its head up when being steadied away from the heels of TELECOM FIGHTERS approaching the 1200 Metres.

After the 200 Metres, SAVAQUIN and CHARITY GO raced tight.

When questioned, M Chadwick stated that he was instructed to take up a forward position on ENJOYING and it was expected that the horse would be able to race in the first three.

He said after being awkwardly away from the barriers, he rode ENJOYING vigorously for some distance in the early stages to obtain as forward a position as possible.

He said LOOKING GREAT showed more early speed than ENJOYING and was able to improve forward of ENJOYING and shift in to race in front of his mount after the 1700 Metres.

He said at this time SUNNY STAR was racing to the inside of ENJOYING and as that horse was positioned to the outside of the heels of CHARITY GO, he was of the opinion that the rider of that horse was intent on remaining racing one horse off the rail and in any case ENJOYING was not travelling well enough for him to be able to shift in and possibly manoeuvre SUNNY STAR over to race on the rail which would have resulted in ENJOYING racing further back than had been anticipated but one horse off the rail.

He said when SUNNY STAR continued to maintain its position one horse off the rail, this resulted in ENJOYING being left racing in a three wide position.

He added that as MONEY CATCHER was improving its position from wide on the track and as he was of the opinion that LOOKING GREAT may be steadied by its rider with a view to obtaining cover, he attempted to improve to the outside of LOOKING GREAT and inside MONEY CATCHER after the 1600 Metres as MONEY CATCHER was continuing to race wide.

He said he had hoped that ENJOYING would be able to improve its position forward of LOOKING GREAT and obtain a position one horse off the rail in front of LOOKING GREAT and then obtain cover behind MONEY CATCHER as that horse shifted across to race outside the lead.

He said despite riding his mount along approaching the winning post on the first occasion, he was not able to establish his position inside MONEY CATCHER and clear LOOKING GREAT which resulted in MONEY CATCHER being able to shift across to race outside TELECOM FIGHTERS after passing the winning post on the first occasion.

He said because of these circumstances ENJOYING was left racing three wide and without cover approaching the 1300 Metres.

M Chadwick was told that given the circumstances in the early stages, namely the manner in which ENJOYING began and then failed to muster speed and SUNNY STAR maintaining its position one horse off the rail, the Stewards would take no further action other than to report his explanation.

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

MONEY CATCHER, CHARITY GO and SAVAQUIN were sent for sampling.