The
John Size trained son of Exceed and excel went into the 1200 metre contest
having taken benefit from a first-up sixth in the G3
National Day Cup Handicap (1000m) at the start of the month and then an impressive barrier
trial nine days ago."I couldn't have been more confident going into a nice race," said winning rider Nash Rawiller after driving the top-weight (60.5kg) to a half-length success.
"A lot could go wrong, he had a big weight, but I felt I was on something that was going to be damn tough to beat!"
Despite that confidence and the gelding's lofty standing, Mr Stunning broke from gate six as a 9.1 shot, with last season's G1 Chairman's Sprint Prize (1200m) hero Lucky Bubbles the favourite.
Mr Stunning made a mockery of those odds, hitting the front inside the final 150m and holding off the late dash of Lucky Bubbles in a reversal of Chairman's Sprint Prize placings.
"He's an exceptional horse," Rawiller said of last season's G2 Sprint Cup (1200m) winner.
"This was the first time I'd been lucky enough to ride him in a race but he put me in a beautiful spot and travelled sweetly. It was an amazing turn-of-foot, especially with that weight."
The winning time was inside standard at 1m 08.10s, with Mr Stunning sprinting through the final 400m in 21.95s.
The first two could well lock horns again in next month's G2 BOCHK Wealth Management Jockey Club Sprint (1200m) before going on to 10 December's G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m).
Mr Stunning was bred by renowned Victorian owner breeder Tony Santic under his Makybe banner, which has given us Group I winners such as Starspangledbanner, Pear Tart and Amicus, cups queen Makybe Diva aside.
Mr Stunning was sold by Makybe as a weanling at the Inglis Great Southern Sale for $110,000 and is the fifth winner from With Fervour (USA), who died in 2014. She was a half-sister to five-time Group I winner With Anticipation from Kentucky and Hollywood Oaks winner Fran's Valentine.
Mr Stunning has won eight of 14 starts and has proved to be a highly successful pinhook for New Zealand based Lyndhurst Farm fetching $250,000 to the bid of Magus Equine when re-offered through their draft at the NZB Premier Yearling Sale.
