The Stewards today interviewed trainers Mr C W Chang and Mr C Fownes in respect to an incident which occurred following the running of Race 1 at the Sha Tin Racemeeting on Sunday 9 April 2023.  In the said incident Mr Chang was observed to have thrown his race book into the back of Mr Fownes following KAHOLO ANGEL, trained by Mr Fownes, winning the said race and JOYFUL PROSPERITY, trained by Mr Chang, finishing second.

The interviews established that:

·                     Mr Fownes and Mr Chang are good friends;
·                     The incident was considered by both trainers to be light-hearted banter;
·                     Mr Fownes took no offence or exception to the incident.

After considering all of the evidence the Stewards determined that no action should be taken against Mr Chang.  However, he was advised that he should conduct himself in a professional manner at all times to avoid incidents such as this being misrepresented in the public domain and therefore potentially impacting upon the good public image and reputation of racing.