Saudi Cup (Group 1)
TRAVELLING across the world and competing at the highest level has become Forever Young’s speciality and Japan’s flag bearer was on target again when he became the first dual winner of the Group 1 USD$20m Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Racecourse on Saturday.
He took the Saudi Cup 12 months ago in a gripping duel with Romantic Warrior and went on to land the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic on his final start of 2025.
Returning to Riyadh, Yoshito Yahagi’s dirt champion raced just off the pace set by Banishing and Thundersquall and jockey Ryusei Sakai found a perfect gap along the inside rail turning into the home straight. The doubt over the second-favourite Nysos was that he would see out the mile and a furlong distance and so it proved.
Forever Young and Nysos went head-to-head in the last two furlongs, but the Bob Baffert colt could never quite get on terms with Forever Young, whose class and determination saw him fend off the challenge from Nysos by a length.
James Doyle on the Wathnan Racing-owned Tumbarumba came from off the pace to claim third, ahead of US challenger Bishops Bay.
It was a third victory at the meeting for Forever Young, who also has a Saudi Derby success to his name. It brings Forever Young’s prize money total to almost £23 million.
Amazing horse
Jockey Ryusei Sakei said in interviews afterwards: “He’s an amazing horse, two times in the Saudi Cup, and I just trust him. I had no worries, there was no pressure, this is my job, the same every time. I’m very proud of him and I want to thank everyone who supported all the team.”
His popular trainer Yoshito Yahagi, added: “Of course I had a lot of pressure on me before the race, as he was the best in the field. I think it’s not my training that makes him this great horse, I think the horse is just made like a champion and I have little to do with it.
“Of course, our next target is the Dubai World Cup. Last year, it didn’t work out in the Dubai World Cup, he just wasn’t good enough. We will try our best to win it this year.”
Bob Baffert, who also saddled Nevada Beach, never involved in 12th, commented: “This race is almost like the Kentucky Derby because unless you win, second isn’t that exciting. The good thing, though, is that Nysos showed up. Forever Young is just so good.”
The winner’s rags to riches story began at the Keeneland Sept (yearlings) sale in September 2014, when his dam Forever Darling was sold for just $8,000.
Neom Turf Cup Presented by Howden (Group 1)
IF we are saying National Hunt horses are on the decline at 10 years, the winner of the Group 1 USD$3m Neom Turf Cup put a spanner in the works of the flat performers for, at eight years old, Karl Burke’s gelding Royal Champion is producing his best form.
Royal Champion secured his biggest yet and his first Group 1. The son of Shamardal has won five of his last seven races and impressed in a Group 2 at York last season before finishing third to Delacroix in the Irish Champion Stakes and was coming to Riyadh off a win in the Group 2 Bahrain International Trophy.
Japanese filly Yamanin Bouclier set the pace, while Royal Champion was settled in fourth position under Oisin Murphy.
With three furlongs remaining, the gelding went wide to find a clear run and quickened home with a remarkable turn of foot, clearing away in the last furlong for a decisive victory.
Facteur Cheval and Mickael Barzalona finished four and a half lengths back in second with Survie and Ryan Moore in third.
It was a poignant occasion as Royal Champion’s acclaimed owner-breeder, Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum, died late last year.
Karl Burke said: “It was superb. He’s a very forward-going horse, he’s quite keen at home - he’s not a runaway, but we just wanted him to get in a nice rhythm behind a decent pace. Once he gets a bit of cover, he just travels lovely and Oisin has pulled it off fantastically well. I was so confident once he was turning in in that position. He’s a horse with a turn of foot who keeps galloping and stays the trip really well.
“He’s been accepted for Dubai [Turf], but I’ll have to speak to the guys at Darley and see what we do. It’s an obvious race for him, I think the drop back a furlong wouldn’t do him any harm. A lot of it will be up to Sheikh Mohammed Obaid’s family.”
Oisin Murphy added: “I feel really sorry for Clifford Lee, Karl Burke’s stable jockey, who is recovering from an injury at the moment. Karl came here with a lot of confidence and the horse was excellently prepared and push-button.”
Rest of the card
It was a great weekend for Joseph O’Brien, who trained his 1,500th winner at Dundalk on Friday, and he combined again with stable jockey, Dylan Browne McMonagle, back from Hong Kong, to win the Group 2 Red Sea Turf Handicap Presented by Longines, worth over £1 million, with the H O S Syndicate-owned Study Of Man gelding Sons And Lovers.
They stayed on well to beat Tabletalk and Tarriance by a length and a half and a neck after hitting the front over a furlong and a half out, as his stable companion Tennessee Stud faded.
American raider Reef Runner had gone under the radar in the build-up to the Group 2 USD$2m Turf Sprint Presented by Qiddiya City.
The Irad Ortiz partnered five-year-old jumped well and raced behind the Japanese leader Shin Forever, while the French raider and last year’s Royal Ascot Group 1 winner Lazzat travelled in third on his outside.
In the straight, James Doyle and Lazzat made their move to lead, but Reef Runner kept closing in to beat him by a neck. Comanche Brave, trained by Donnacha O’Brien, put up a great performance to take third, a week after a similar placing in the Abu Dhabi Gold Cup, and he finished three-quarters of a length behind the pair in third place.
The one-mile Group 3 Saudi Derby looked like it was bound for the Japan or the US, when the Steve Asmussen-trained Obliteration looked to get back up after Japan’s favourite Satono Voyage led over a furlong out, but he was headed and no extra inside final as the Irish-bred Al Haram and Ricardo Ferreira took the spoils.
The son of Iffraaj had already won the Saudi 2000 Guineas and went on to win by over a length.
Doha
>Japan’s Monster overcomes Europeans
DEEP Monster completed a notable week for Japanese racing when gamely landing The Amir Trophy under Tom Marquand at Al Rayyan racecourse in Doha last Saturday.
Strauss gave Japan its first winner in Abu Dhabi, when claiming the inaugural Abu Dhabi Gold Cup the previous Saturday.
At eight, Deep Monster was the eldest of the seven-horse field, but the son of Deep Impact staved off the challenge of 2024 King George hero Goliath by a neck, with Marco Botti’s Giavellotto a bit unlucky, disadvantaged by a slow early pace needing him to quicken in the straight, he stayed on from off the pace into third a further length back.
Goliath and Christophe Soumillon led at a steady pace until Deep Monster took his measure a furlong out. Favourite Byzantine Dream was held up by Cristian Demuro, but failed to fire.
Charlie Appleby’s El Cordobes was also settled off the early pace, but could not pick up for William Buick in the straight.
Winning trainer Yasutoshi Ikee said: “I’m so proud, because my father trained Deep Impact and it was always my dream to win a big race overseas with a son of that great horse. Today that dream has come true.”
Marquand said: “It’s a big win for Mr Ikee and all credit to him, because although this horse didn’t win a group race until recently, he was absolutely on it today.
“I decided to follow Goliath and, when we sprinted off the turn, my horse just kept finding, he was so game all the way to the line.”
Francis-Henri Graffard said of Goliath: “The Japanese horse was inside us and it didn’t help my horse to relax. We were being pressured around the last bend, but I was proud of his performance.”
There was also a British win on the card in the local Group 3 Dukhan Sprint Cup over six furlongs, when Stuart Williams’s great campaigner Quinault took the six-horse contest under Marco Ghiani.