Karaka Clean Sweep in Sprint Cup

The remarkable Hong Kong sprinting success of horses sourced from Karaka continued with a clean sweep of Sunday’s HK$4.25 million Group 2 Sprint Cup (1200m) at Sha Tin.

Karaka graduates have dominated the last two editions of the HK$20 million Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint (1200m), filling the quinella last season and all of the first four positions this season.

Mr Stunning (Exceed and Excel) was the winner on both of those occasions, but on Sunday he had to settle for third behind Rattan (NZ) (Savabeel) and Beat the Clock (Hinchinbrook).

Mr Stunning and Beat the Clock sat in first and second place for most of the race, but Rattan overhauled them in the closing stages for a thrilling win. The 1200 metres were run in a fast time of 1:08.14.

“The race planned out beautifully, the top two went against each other, maybe a touch early and our stamina kicked in the finish,” trainer Richard Gibson said.

Rattan was ridden to victory on Sunday by Chad Schofield.

“He’s a very underrated horse and he keeps flying under the radar,” the Australian jockey said. “He’s done us all proud.”

A product of Mapperley Stud, Rattan was a $150,000 purchase at the 2015 Premier Sale. He has now had 21 starts for seven wins, seven placings and HK$11.89 million – the equivalent of NZ$2.24 million, which is 15 times his purchase price.

Runner-up Beat The Clock was bought for $200,000 at the 2015 Ready to Run Sale. He has won seven of his 20 starts, headed by the Group 1 Centenary Sprint Cup (1200m), for HK$25.8 million in stakes (NZ$4.88 million).

Third-placed Mr Stunning was a $250,000 buy at the 2014 Premier Sale. The two-time Hong Kong Sprint winner has won 11 of his 24 starts and more than HK$48.5 million (NZ$8.66 million).

Fourth-placed Pingwu Spark (NZ) (Mastercraftsman) is also a Karaka graduate, bought for $125,000 at the 2014 Premier Sale. He has earned HK$7.8 million (NZ$1.47 million) in his 20-start, six-win career.