Mitchell was already familiar with Beat The Clock before he went through the Karaka sales ring on behalf of Prima Park, with his brothers' Yarraman Park having sold the son of resident stallion Hinchinbrook as a yearling.
After initially passing in, Beat The Clock was secured by Mitchell for NZ$200,000 on behalf of Hong Kong owners Kenneth and Merrick Chung
"I knew him from when he was a yearling, and Hinchinbrook was in a bit of a flat spot in his first season and I did know the horse," Mitchell told TDN AusNZ.
"He was a lovely looking horse, more athletic than most Hinchinbrooks, not quite as heavy, and a leggier type. He spent a while in New Zealand before heading to Hong Kong."
Bill Mitchell (right) with son James
Beat The Clock joined the John Size stable and made an immediate impact, winning his first start by 3l. Between then and when he was officially retired with a tendon injury last week, he won 10 races, including four Group 1s and was unplaced just once in 25 starts.
"It’s been a great thrill for everyone involved. He's been a wonderful horse. That’s what you hope for every time you buy one. He won four Group 1s, won the International Sprint, and was one of the top sprinters in Hong Kong in what has been a very good crop. He was a wonderful horse," Mitchell said.
"There is always a sense of fulfilment out of buying good horses. It’s similar to training them. It's not much different. When they go to Hong Kong, you don’t have much to do with them ongoing, but he went to one of the best stables over there and just never stopped winning. He was a wonderful horse for Kenneth and Merrick Chung."
Mitchell secured another horse for the Chungs, Rock The Bells (Fastnet Rock), from the NZB Ready to Run Sale of 2YOs last year, paying NZ$180,000 for him out of the draft of Ohukia Lodge
He debuted with a win at Newcastle for Richard and Michael Freedman at Newcastle in August before running second at Kembla Grange.
"He's a promising horse and if he qualifies, he will go to Hong Kong. We think he will. Kenneth has got eight or nine horses in Australia and so when he gets a permit, we try to pick one out to go, and if not, they race here," Mitchell said.
Rock The Bells as a 2-year-old
Following from afar
Travel restrictions will prevent Mitchell being on the ground at Karaka when this year's Sale gets underway on Wednesday but is still likely to be a very interested observer.
"We will be watching and have been looking at the breezes. We have got people on the ground over there. If we want any more information about a horse or want it inspected, I have those contacts in New Zealand to do that side," he said.
Mitchell said the breeze-up vision is the crucial part of his assessment of potential purchases from these types of sales.
"The action in the breeze-up is key to it all. After a lot of years' training, I have a good understanding of horses' actions and galloping patterns, as well as attitude and temperament. You just try to put it all together in the one package and try to find the right horse. You don't always get it right," he said.
"These horses are all at different levels of education and experience and sometimes they change soon after, but essentially, if I don't like the horse's action, it won't make my shortlist."
So close for Sweet Reply
Meanwhile another Mitchell Bloodstock selection, the Freedman-trained Sweet Reply (Deep Field), went within a whisker of a stakes victory on Saturday when narrowly beaten in the G2 Sandown Guineas by Allibor (All Too Hard).
A $100,000 buy from last year's Magic Millions Yearling Sale in conjunction with McEnnis Racing, she has now won once and been placed six times in eight starts.
"She looked like she was going to win, but she hasn't had a lot of joy in her races, with all those seconds. She could have won any one of those, including the Listed race at Flemington," Mitchell said.
"She has no excuse yesterday, that's her limit, the mile. We had to have a go at it and nearly pulled it off.
"She's a beauty. She's very sound and puts herself in the right spot. She should be a stakes winner but she's got a good future on her and I'm sure she will be a black-type winner at some stage."
