Recap by phillip woo

Rank outsider General Sherman came with a bold run after travelling second from the rear to snatch victory in the final few strides. He did like the pace Tai Smart injected with a mid-race move. Sangria stayed on very well to just miss after covering ground in midfield. He's having a good campaign over a range of course and distances. Well-backed late Fiama came on widest out from the rear of the field to make it a blanket finish on the wire. He handled the rise in distance without a hitch. Giant Turtle was swamped late after surging to the lead at the 350m sitting on the back of the speed. Grand Chancellor made a mild bid without menacing following a one-off run in midfield. Consort was given every chance and came up flat in the last 100m following a midfield run.

Racing Incident Report

Race Nine: (629) - THE ARCULLI TROPHY (HANDICAP) - Class 3 - 2000Meters

KING OF MONGOLIA was crowded for room on jumping between CONSORT and JOLLY GENE which shifted in.

In this incident, CONSORT became unbalanced after being bumped by KING OF MONGOLIA.

From wide barriers, GENERAL SHERMAN and FIAMA were shifted across behind runners in the early stages.

Passing the 1700 Metres, CONSORT commenced to travel keenly and shifted out towards the heels of GRAND CHANCELLOR, resulting in KING OF MONGOLIA being crowded for room between that horse and SANGRIA.

Throughout the race, PERFECT TO PLAY travelled wide and without cover.

The performance of PERFECT TO PLAY, which finished tailed out, was considered unacceptable.

Before being allowed to race again, PERFECT TO PLAY will be required to perform to the satisfaction of the Stewards in a barrier trial and be subjected to an official veterinary examination.

When questioned, J Moreira stated that after shifting TAI SMART across behind runners, his mount was required to race behind midfield in the early and middle stages.

He said when following KING OF MONGOLIA near the 1200 Metres, that horse, which had been shifting ground in advance of TAI SMART, was directed back in by its rider.

He said as he believed that the rider of KING OF MONGOLIA was doing this to ensure that the horse remained racing in a two wide position behind GRAND CHANCELLOR, he elected to shift TAI SMART out approaching the 1100 Metres in the hope that he could improve his position quickly forward of KING OF MONGOLIA and obtain a position with cover behind SANGRIA which was racing in a three wide position in about midfield.

He said however that when improving to the outside of KING OF MONGOLIA after the 1100 Metres, TAI SMART was bumped and taken wider by that horse which shifted out from behind GRAND CHANCELLOR to take the position with cover behind SANGRIA.

He said this resulted in TAI SMART being forced into a four wide position without cover.

He added whilst it was available to him to restrain TAI SMART to resume its position behind KING OF MONGOLIA, he did not believe this move would be in the best interests of the horse as he had ridden it quite aggressively and he believed that he would have had to restrain his mount heavily to resume its position behind KING OF MONGOLIA.

He said he therefore elected to continue pressing forward to settle outside the leader JOLLY GENE to avoid covering unnecessary ground.

When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of CIRCUIT GLORY, Z Purton stated that his mount commenced to travel keenly passing the winning post on the first occasion and continued to over-race until the tempo of the race increased near the 1100 Metres.

He said after the 800 Metres he had to niggle at CIRCUIT GLORY to maintain its position inside GIANT TURTLE.

He said although he was awkwardly placed behind TAI SMART rounding the Home Turn, he was able to shift to the inside of that horse and attempted a tight run between TAI SMART and JOLLY GEN near the 400 Metres.

He said after momentarily racing in restricted room, CIRCUIT GLORY was able to improve between those horses, however, came under heavy pressure passing the 300 Metres and then was disappointing in the manner in which it failed to close off the race.

He added he recommended to connections that they considered dropping CIRCUIT GLORY back in distance as a more genuine tempo, in his opinion, might assist the horse in travelling more kindly during the race.

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

After the race, Apprentice M F Poon (JOLLY GENE) reported that when TAI SMART improved its position forward of JOLLY GENE passing the 900 Metres, JOLLY GENE came under immediate pressure.

He said he was forced to ride his mount along to consolidate his position inside TAI SMART.

He said he believed that the pressure applied to JOLLY GENE by TAI SMART passing the 900 Metres was the principal factor for the horse giving ground noticeably in the Straight.

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

The performance of JOLLY GENE, a last start winner, was considered unacceptable.

Before being allowed to race again, JOLLY GENE 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 GOOD OMEN and TAI SMART immediately following the race did not show any significant findings.

CIRCUIT GLORY, GENERAL SHERMAN and SANGRIA were sent for sampling.