Mr Stunning Heads Karaka Quinella in Hong Kong Sprint

The HK$18.5 million Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) is one of the world’s great sprint races, and graduates of New Zealand Bloodstock sales have played a starring role in recent years. In Sunday’s 2017 edition, the two Karaka graduates in the field finished first and second.

Following in the footsteps of the $120,000 Premier Sale purchase Aerovelocity (NZ) (Pins), who scored outstanding wins in 2014 and 2016, Mr Stunning (Exceed and Excel) and D B Pin (Darci Brahma) fought out the finish on Sunday.

Two impressive recent stakes wins had made Mr Stunning the favourite for the famous race, and as the John Size-trained runner cruised into contention at the top of the straight he seemed to be set to deliver.

The fiercest challenge came from his stablemate D B Pin, who unleashed a powerful finishing burst on his outside. But Mr Stunning responded to the challenge, holding on to win by a neck.

“I’m lucky I’m on a very good, if not outstanding horse,” winning rider Nash Rawiller said. “I was always going to be vulnerable the last 50 metres, but my bloke just kept doing what he needed to do.”

Mr Stunning was offered at the 2014 Premier Sale by Lyndhurst Farm, where Hong Kong’s Magus Equine bought him for $250,000.

He has now won 10 of his 16 starts and more than HK$25 million (NZ$4.6 million) for owner Maurice Koo Win Chong. This was his fourth black-type win, having previously won the HK$4 million Sprint Cup (1200m), the HK$4 million Premier Bowl (1200m) and the HK$4 million Jockey Club Sprint (1200m).

D B Pin is out of the Group 3-winning Pins mare Pins ‘N’ Needles (NZ). That mare is now the dam of two Group 1 performers, with Asavant (NZ) (Zabeel) having earlier run third in a Waikato International Stakes (2000m).

Bred by Willie and Karen Calder, D B Pin was offered in The Oaks Stud’s draft at the 2014 Premier Sale. He was bought for $200,000 by John Foote.