Karaka Trifecta in Group One Chairman’s Sprint Prize

Graduates of the Karaka sales complex have done it again in a major Hong Kong sprint, sweeping the first three placings in Sunday’s HK$16 million Group 1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m) at Sha Tin.

The winner Beat the Clock (Hinchinbrook) was a $200,000 purchase at the 2015 Ready to Run Sale, while runner-up Rattan (NZ) (Savabeel) cost $150,000 at the 2015 Premier Sale, and third-placed Little Giant (NZ) (Swiss Ace) was passed in at the 2014 Select Sale with a $55,000 reserve.

It follows Karaka dominance of the last two editions of the showpiece HK$20 million Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint (1200m), filling the quinella in 2017 and all of the first four positions last December, with Mr Stunning (Exceed and Excel) winning on both occasions.

Karaka recruits were also to the fore in the HK$10 million Group 1 Centenary Sprint Cup (1200m) in January, where Beat the Clock prevailed over Mr Stunning. Then, in the HK$4.25 million Group 2 Sprint Cup (1200m) earlier this month, Karaka graduates finished first, second, third and fourth with Rattan, Beat the Clock, Mr Stunning and Pingwu Spark (NZ) (Mastercraftsman).

In Sunday’s major short-course feature, Beat the Clock and jockey Joao Moreira settled in fourth position before making their move at the final turn.

It took them most of the home straight to overhaul the tenacious front-runner Rattan, but in the end Beat the Clock edged past to win by a half a length. The time was a fast 1:08.26.

“The race went perfect for him,” Moreira said. “Rattan wasn’t giving up, he was dashing home and made it very hard. But fortunately we have a very brave horse. He tries his best, and once again he’s done it.”

The John Size-trained Beat the Clock has now had 21 starts for eight wins, 13 placings and HK$34.9 million in prize-money for owner Merrick Chung Wai Lik. That’s the equivalent of more than 33 times his purchase price.

“Lovely to see Beat the Clock win another Group 1,” Emma-Lee Browne tweeted. “We broke him in and did Ready to Run Sale prep with him, and after he was sold at the Ready to Run Sale, he came back to us for pre-training before he left for Hong Kong.”

Second-placed Rattan, a seven-race winner, has now earned more than HK$15 million, which is almost 20 times his purchase price, while Little Giant has dwarfed his $55,000 reserve with earnings of HK$6.6 million (NZ$1.26 million).