Mr Stunning Flies Karaka Flag Again

Quality sprinter Mr Stunning (Exceed and Excel) claimed his third Group 1 victory in Sunday’s HK$18 million Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m) at Sha Tin, continuing a golden run for Karaka graduates in Hong Kong’s elite sprints.

It was the second consecutive Chairman’s Sprint Prize victory for a sprinter sourced from Karaka, following on from Beat The Clock (Hinchinbrook) 12 months ago.

Karaka graduates have also won the last three editions of the Group 1 Centenary Sprint Cup (1200m), and even more significantly, all of the last four runnings of the Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint (1200m).

Two of those Hong Kong Sprint triumphs were delivered by Mr Stunning in 2017 and 2018, and on Sunday the $250,000 Premier Sale purchase turned back the clock and returned to that same elite level.

The Frankie Lor-trained star settled in midfield for jockey Karis Teetan, and at the 200-metre mark he still had four horses in front of him in a tightly bunched field.

But then Mr Stunning produced a spectacular burst of speed, exploding out of the pack to score a clear-cut victory by three-quarters of a length.

“I just had so much horse underneath me,” Teetan said. “I was tracking a few horses who were decent enough to take me into the race, and I was just waiting for a gap to open.

“This horse, his heart is bigger than him, so I knew he would let down as soon as he got that run.”

Mr Stunning has now had 30 starts for 12 wins, 11 placings and earnings of more than HK$60 million. That is the equivalent of NZ$12.8 million, which is more than 50 times his purchase price. He is raced by Maurice Koo Win-chong.

“He’s a seven-year-old now but this season, for me, he’s always been very close,” Lor said. “Unfortunately last season he had an injury, but now everything’s good.

“Because of the hairline fracture he had, I can’t push him too hard, especially as he is an older horse. That’s why this time I didn’t trial him before this race – we just freshened him up.

“We planned for this to be his last run, but let me talk to the owner and we will decide and see what he thinks about the horse. He was my first Group 1 winner, I’m very happy for him.”