Beat the Clock looks tough in Hong Kong University Alumni Handicap

Beat the Clock has done little wrong in a seven-start career that began last November, and even while stepping up in class, he looks like the right horse for the featured Hong Kong University Alumni Handicap on Sunday at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong.

Race 7 of 10, the Sunday feature is worth about $224,000, will be contested at 1,400 meters (about seven furlongs), and is open to horses rated between 80 and 100.

Beat the Clock is trained by John Size and will be ridden, as has been the case in all of his starts, by Joao Moreira, and he’s the big mover on ratings starting in the HKU Alumni.

A 3-year-old Australian import, Beat the Clock made his career debut in November and aired, winning by three lengths at Sha Tin over Sunday’s distance. Beat the Clock emerged from that race with a rating of 52 and has risen steadily since then thanks to a series of strong, consistent performances. He has three wins, three places, and a show from his seven starts while never dispatched at odds higher than 5-2 and probably will be favored again Sunday.

Size hasn’t raced Beat the Clock since March 5, but the horse has been in steady training and won his most recent barrier trial on June 2. He has raced effectively coming from well off the pace but has tactical speed and figures to settle into a pressing or stalking trip Sunday.

The pacesetter surely will be Adventurer, who has been leading early in a series of five-furlong starts. He should pull Beat the Clock along nicely, and with first run on the chasers, Beat the Clock should be tough to beat.

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