John Size is in no rush to force Flow Water Flow towards the 2026 BMW Hong Kong Derby even after the progressive four-year-old produced a dramatic Class 3 win at Sha Tin that hinted at a bright future.
Size said the Derby on March 22 over 2,000 meters is likely to come too soon for the late-blooming galloper, whose narrow victory over Karma won’t do much to lift him in the order of entry for the Four-year-old Classic Series.
Flow Water Flow was equal second-lowest ranked on 63 when the first stage of Derby entries was released on January 19 and Size acknowledged the tight margin on Sunday did little to move the needle.
“And he is one of the lowest rated still,” Size said post-race. “That margin today isn’t helping. Anyway, regardless of the Derby, the outcome of that particular exercise was good – he is a nice horse and that is what we want. The fact that we are behind scedule for the Derby is just bad luck – he has done well, he is progressive and he just continues to pitch up and do the right things.”
Flow Water Flow has been asked to progress quickly since debuting at Happy Valley, running two strong seconds at 1,200 meters before closing for second at 1,400 meters at Sha Tin, then winning narrowly over a mile and backing it up yesterday with a gritty victory at 1800m.
“I have asked him to do a little more than usual by stepping up in distance so quickly and he has handled it – he went from 1200 meters to 1800 meters quickly and he copped it,” Size said. “I think he has a bright future, but as far as the Derby is concerned, he might just be too far behind schedule for that.”
Andrea Atzeni, who completed a treble yesterday after riding a double at Happy Valley midweek said the gelding is still on the rise.
“He is obviously a horse that is improving each run and he has stepped up in class and trip quickly,” Atzeni said. “He looks like a typical John Size improver.”
