Japan star Forever Young (JPN) bested Hong Kong’s Romantic Warrior (IRE) by a neck in a race for the ages at King Abdulaziz Racecourse on Saturday.
The $20 million Gr1 Saudi Cup is the world’s richest race.
The head-to-head so many had hoped for materialised in a fascinating tactical battle. The big two jumped out prominently as Walk Of Stars (GB) set the early fractions stalked by Ryusei Sakai and Forever Young, while James McDonald and Romantic Warrior elected to switch a little wide to stay out of the kickback on his first attempt on dirt.
Forever Young (dark red) beats Romantic Warrior in the US$20m Saudi Cup (Pic- Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia //Mathea Kelley)
McDonald made a sudden move with 400m remaining and it looked very much as if the world’s record-breaking money earner would be adding a significant further sum to his haul.
However, he could never shake off the attentions of Sakai, whose mount had won last year’s Saudi Derby at the track and wore his opponent down in the final stages in a winning time of 1:49.099. There were 10 and a half lengths back to third-placed Ushba Tesoro (JPN).
Yahagi, Sakei and owner Susumu Fujita had already won the US$2m Howden Neom Turf Cup with Shin Emperor (FR) on the card, while Yahahi landed the 2023 Saudi Cup with Panthalassa.
Yoshito Yahagi, trainer, Forever Young, 1st: “This is my second win in The Saudi Cup, but no matter how many wins you have in The Saudi Cup, it is still a great feeling. I didn’t have confidence; I believed in him.You know when he came here to run in the Saudi Derby, he was not in the best condition and he still won. Since that time, he has improved a lot and was in better condition today. I would like to thank all the people of The Saudi Cup who support us. We will go to the Dubai World Cup.”
Ryusei Sakai, jockey, Forever Young: “He jumped very well from the wide gate in 14 and got into a nice position without a problem. It was my tactics to be in that situation. I believe in Forever Young, I never thought I’d lose the race. This is the best moment in my life.”
James McDonald, jockey, Romantic Warrior, 2nd: “He ran incredibly well. I was very proud of him. He flowed into the race well and used his momentum nicely, so it was a terrific effort. He was gallant in defeat, the race worked out perfectly for us, he got a little bit of kickback, sidled round just beautifully. I can safely say I wasn’t stopping, I didn’t alter my stride pace at all. It just shows what great horse Forever Young is and what a race was.”
Danny Shum, trainer, Romantic Warrior: “He ran good. It was his first time on the dirt and he ran tremendous. Really good. The winner is a very good horse and didn’t beat us by very much. It was his first run on the dirt and only beaten by Forever Young and that horse is a very tough dirt horse.
We were only beaten by a head. What can you do? I tried something like this for the first time with Romantic Warrior and hopefully some other trainers and owners will [follow me]. We did the best we could. We hope to win every time, but racing is racing. He tried his best, it was a really good race and most of the people enjoyed the races.
“James was happy with him, so I’m happy with him. Great run. He beat the third horse by lengths. He will go back to Dubai for the Dubai Turf. Definitely turf.”
