Recap by phillip woo

Curling Luxury just held off favourite Marvel Joy after taking the bull by the horns to lead from a good gate off a light weight. The move to stay in the grade with the claimer's allowance was the right move. Marvel Joy had his chance following a prominent run. He's capable but has trouble winning. Sparkling Sword closed well following a handy run to finish a clear-cut third. He's in fabulous form but might find things harder if he leaves the grade. Bellagio was short of room late after over-racing a bit in midfield in his first run over the course. He's got plenty of untapped potential but his mind isn't fully on the game yet. Heroic Guru made some ground late without menacing from among the backmarkers. He can pop up now and then but age has gotten the better of him. Gold Land ran on well down the outside after travelling third from the rear from a tricky gate. Polymer Luck will sleep well after a torrid run better than midfield from a wide gate.

Racing Incident Report

Race Three: (157) - SHEK PIK HANDICAP - Class 4 - 1650Meters

DARING HEART began awkwardly and lost ground.

Shortly after the start, SPARKLING SWORD raced tight between MEGATRON and CURLING LUXURY which shifted out.

From wide barriers, GARLIC YEAH and LUCKY SHINY DAY were shifted across behind runners in the early stages.

After travelling a short distance, THE FULL BLOOM and GOLD LAND were crowded for room between GARLIC YEAH and HEROIC GURU which shifted out.

In this incident, GARLIC YEAH became unbalanced when bumped by GOLD LAND.

Passing the 250 Metres, LUCKY SHINY DAY raced tight inside THE FULL BLOOM which lay in when giving ground.

LUCKY SHINY DAY raced tight outside the hindquarters of GARLIC YEAH passing the 150 Metres.

Near the 25 Metres, HEROIC GURU, which had been shifting out in an endeavour to improve outside MARVEL JOY, was steadied when disappointed for running between MARVEL JOY which shifted out and BELLAGIO.

In this incident, HEROIC GURU bumped BELLAGIO.

As the Stewards were satisfied that HEROIC GURU did not establish running to the outside of MARVEL JOY prior to that horse shifting ground, no further action was taken.

Because of this incident, both BELLAGIO and HEROIC GURU were not ridden out all the way to the end of the race.

Throughout the race, THE FULL BLOOM travelled wide and without cover.

When questioned regarding the performance of POLYMER LUCK, M Chadwick stated that it was anticipated that there would be good pace in the race and that pace would predominately come from SPARKLING SWORD, THE FULL BLOOM and MEGATRON and therefore it was hoped that the field may be able to spread out in the early stages which may provide him with the opportunity to obtain a trailing position from a wide barrier.

He said in accordance with his instructions he rode POLYMER LUCK positively in the early stages, however, despite riding his mount for some distance, POLYMER LUCK did not show the same pace as THE FULL BLOOM and therefore he elected to obtain a trailing position behind that horse passing the winning post on the first occasion.

He said POLYMER LUCK travelled satisfactorily in the middle stages and he felt that after shifting to the outside of THE FULL BLOOM near the 400 Metres, POLYMER LUCK would quicken well given the manner in which it had travelled throughout the race.

He added however that POLYMER LUCK immediately came off the bridle and, despite being ridden out in the Straight, was disappointing in the manner in which it failed to finished off the race and was only one-paced in the Straight.

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

When questioned regarding the performance of LUCKY SHINY DAY, S de Sousa stated that, from the outside barrier, he shifted his mount across behind runners in the early stages which was how the horse had been ridden in the past.

He said LUCKY SHINY DAY had travelled fairly throughout the race and he expected the horse, based on its previous performance, to quicken well in the early part of the Straight.

He said he was going to shift to the outside of GOLD LAND passing the 400 Metres, but believed he would have had to cover too much extra ground and as there was running to the inside of that horse, he improved between runners in the early part of the Straight.

He said LUCKY SHINY DAY did not quicken as well as he expected and then when racing initially between THE FULL BLOOM and GARLIC YEAH and later in the Straight between POLYMER LUCK and GARLIC YEAH, LUCKY SHINY DAY was reluctant to improve between runners.

He added LUCKY SHINY DAY was disappointing, particularly given that it did not quicken as it did at its last start when ridden by another jockey.

A veterinary inspection of LUCKY SHINY DAY immediately following the race did not show any significant findings.

A veterinary inspection of MEGATRON immediately following the race did not show any significant findings, however, the horse was unable to be scoped due to being fractious.

CURLING LUXURY and MARVEL JOY were sent for sampling.