Recap by phillip woo

Dual Happy was given a gem of a ride to find a one off position with cover in midfield from a wide gate, popped out for the drive at the 650m, straightened five deep and finished gamely despite laying out to wear down Smart Union close to home for the win. Smart Union travelled three deep without cover in third the entire trip, moved forward to level up for the lead at the 450m and went down fighting despite drifting out carrying a feather weight. Favourite Oxford Charley enjoyed a lovely run along the rails in fourth, cornered four deep and stayed on reasonably well for a placing. Loving Star travelled three back along the rails, straightened four-to-five deep and made some ground to secure a First-4 spot despite a step up in distance. Dragon Bachelor straightened six deep with every chance following a handy run one off the rails with cover and finished one-paced over the final 150m. China Delight settled at the tail of the field, pushed widest out upon straightening and ran on without menacing. Dragon Pins made a mild bid after travelling one off the fence behind midfield. Naval Orange did make some late progress along the inside from the back. Good Thinker was gassed 100m out after dictating the run. Spirit Soaring tracked the speed and stopped badly after straightening.

Racing Incident Report

Race Six: (210)-HIBISCUS HANDICAP - Class 4 - 1800Metres

SERGEANT TITANIUM began very awkwardly, shifted out and bumped the hindquarters of DUAL HAPPY, resulting in SERGEANT TITANIUM losing ground.

From wide barriers, CHINA DELIGHT, DRAGON PINS and SUPER STRIKE were all shifted across behind runners in the early stages.

Rounding the Home Turn, DRAGON PINS was crowded for room between DRAGON BACHELOR and SERGEANT TITANIUM after improving into tight running around DRAGON BACHELOR which was racing close to the heels of SPIRIT SOARING.

At the entrance to the Straight, DRAGON PINS and SERGEANT TITANIUM raced tight.

Shortly after straightening, SERGEANT TITANIUM got its head on the side and lay in under pressure.

Near the 200 Metres, SERGEANT TITANIUM raced tight between CHINA DELIGHT and DRAGON PINS which shifted out away from DRAGON BACHELOR which also shifted out.

SERGEANT TITANIUM then continued to hang in over the concluding stages.

Soon after straightening, OXFORD CHARLEY was awkwardly placed close to the heels of GOOD THINKER.

Passing the 350 Metres, LOVING STAR was hampered when improving into tight running between DRAGON BACHELOR and SPIRIT SOARING which was giving ground.

When questioned, Apprentice C Y Lui (SMART UNION) stated that after he was left racing three wide and without cover passing the winning post on the first occasion, he remained racing outside SPIRIT SOARING which was positioned outside GOOD THINKER.

He said after the 1100 Metres he considered allowing his mount to improve to see if he may be able to obtain a position closer to the rail, however, he felt the race was being run at a steady tempo at this time and had he ridden SMART UNION to improve its position, there was a strong likelihood that both GOOD THINKER and SPIRIT SOARING would also be ridden forward, resulting in SMART UNION having to make a sustained run.

He added therefore he elected to keep SMART UNION balanced and travelling well as he believed that this provided the horse with the best opportunity to finish off its race.

After the race, C Reith stated that SPIRIT SOARING gave ground noticeably in the Straight and, in his opinion, raced "flat".

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

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

OXFORD CHARLEY, DUAL HAPPY and SMART UNION were sent for sampling.