No Lucky Selection at Sha Tin
Last week at Sha Tin, Australian jockey, Tye Angland had a good day - he rode his first winner at Sha Tin. This week, his day was not so good. Not only did he not ride a placed horse but in the third race on the program, his mount, Lucky Selection, proved to be not lucky at all. After getting to the 100 metre mark on the way to the 1000 metre start, the horse refused to budge. Minutes ticked away as all the other horses were behind the stalls waiting to be loaded and Lucky Selection stubbornly declined to join them.
Tye tried everything to get the horse moving, then the clerks of course tried their best; then the strapper was called into action. This all took place right in front of the 60,000 strong crowd along the straight, causing a lot of amusement, and probably much dismay for those who'd put their money on Lucky Selection. After a long delay, Tye eventually dismounted and started to walk the long haul to the start, following Lucky Selection who was being lead and goaded along by the clerks.
About half way up the straight, Tye re-mounted; but again, the horse refused to move an inch. Finally, Lucky Selection was withdrawn by order of the stewards. Only then did the horse break into a canter and allow Tye and the clerk to escort him off the track. Seems he'd made up his mind, he just didn't want to race on this day.
