Hong Kong Jockey Club
Mr Stunning (NZ) (Exceed and Excel) has been getting reacquainted with an old partner in recent weeks, with jockey Karis Teetan set to slip his toes in the star speedster’s race-day irons on Sunday (21 October) for the first time since March, 2016.
The Mauritian ace, currently hard on the heels of champion jockey Zac Purton in the riders’ premiership, is expecting a bold show in a suitably hot edition of the Gr.2 Premier Bowl Handicap (1200m). Mr Stunning claimed the prize last term on his way to securing victory in that December’s Gr.1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m).
John Size was the man overseeing Mr Stunning’s career at that juncture but after a late-season stable switch the six-year-old is now under trainer Frankie Lor’s watch. Lor was Size’s assistant through the first two seasons of Mr Stunning’s career.
And Teetan was the man in the plate when the gelding made a winning debut around Happy Valley’s turning 1000m in February, 2016. Another victory went the duo’s way later that month before a short-head defeat at start three, at which point Teetan gave way to Joao Moreira, ever-present during the 2016/17 campaign.
“I rode him when he was a baby and always knew that he was going to be a Group horse, so I’m glad to be back on him now that he’s proven he’s one of the very best,” Teetan said at Sha Tin this morning (Tuesday, 16 October).
Mr Stunning will clash with former stablemate Ivictory - Hong Kong’s Champion Sprinter, no less - in Sunday’s speed feature. The pair, slated to share top-weight of 133lb, last met when Ivictory leapt from a Class 2 win at Happy Valley to snare the G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m) by half a length from Mr Stunning.
“Ivictory was improving quickly last season when Mr Stunning ran second behind him. It looks like Ivictory will be favoured to beat him this time because he’s had a run already,” Teetan observed.
Also among the entries for the Premier Bowl Handicap are the Gr.1-placed grey Fifty Fifty (NZ) (Thorn Park), this season’s HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup winner Winner’s Way (Starcraft), and the giant grey Pingwu Spark (NZ) (Mastercraftsman).
Sunday’s card also features a top-class edition of the Gr.2 Oriental Watch Sha Tin Trophy Handicap (1600m), which has attracted Horse of the Year Beauty Generation (NZ) (Road To Rock) and fellow Gr.1 winners Pakistan Star (Shamardal), Time Warp (Archipenko), Werther (NZ) (Tavistock) and Beauty Only (Holy Roman Emperor). -HKJC