Beat The Clock will face select yet stiff competition when he attempts a second consecutive win in Sunday’s (19 January) G1 Centenary Sprint Cup (1200m) but jockey Joao Moreira believes the John Size-trained speedster’s biggest threat could be a rival he knows all too well, stablemate Full Of Beauty.
Champion sprinter Beat The Clock has finished top three in all of his 23 career starts and the Brazilian ace has been in the saddle for 21 of those, including three wins at the highest level; but Moreira has also ridden Full Of Beauty on plenty of occasions, winning five times including a first-up score this season in the G3 National Day Cup (1000m), and when subsequently a short-head second to Seasons Bloom in the G2 Premier Bowl (1200m), both in October.
Last month, Moreira was aboard Beat The Clock for a big win in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) but Full Of Beauty’s running-on fifth was noted.
“Full Of Beauty was a bit unlucky last time,” Moreira said. “It looks like something happened in the gate, he’s done that before and he finished very close – so if he’s able to do things a little bit more proper he might be the one to beat.”
However, Beat The Clock is the mount to which Moreira retains an unwavering allegiance. The six-year-old has flourished across three seasons, the pair having combined three times at G1 level, capturing last April’s Chairman’s Sprint Prize too.