Karaka Graduates to the Fore Again in Centenary Sprint Cup

Another major sprint race in Hong Kong has been dominated by graduates of the Karaka sale ring, this time with $200,000 Ready to Run Sale purchase Beat The Clock (Hinchinbrook) winning Sunday’s HK$10 million Group 1 Centenary Sprint Cup (1200m) at Sha Tin.

Last year’s edition of this race produced a Karaka trifecta, with Beat The Clock dead-heating for second with Mr Stunning (Exceed and Excel). The winner on that occasion was D B Pin (NZ) (Darci Brahma).

It was a similar story in last month’s Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint (1200m), where all of the first four horses home were Karaka graduates. Mr Stunning won that race for the second time, with D B Pin second, Beat The Clock third and Little Giant (NZ) (Swiss Ace) fourth.

On Sunday it was Beat The Clock’s time to shine, beating Mr Stunning in a thrilling finish.

After trailing the early leaders, Beat The Clock and rider Joao Moreira charged to the lead at the 300-metre point. Mr Stunning threw down the gauntlet late in the race with a withering finish, but Beat The Clock held him at bay and won by a neck. The time was 1:08.42, less than a second outside the Sha Tin track record.

“He was too good,” Moreira said. “He had that burst of speed and good horses do that.”

Trainer John Size was proud to see the five-year-old win at the highest level.

“Beat The Clock has taken his time to break through to Group One level, but he always promised to do that and today the race was suitable for him and he managed to salute,” he said.

Bought from Prima Park’s draft at the 2015 Ready to Run Sale, Beat The Clock has now had 18 starts for seven wins, 11 placings and more than HK$22 million in prizemoney for owner Merrick Chung. That’s the equivalent of more than $4 million, which is 20 times his purchase price.