RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – The sixth running of the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1), a newly minted Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) qualifier through the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series, lived up to its global billing Feb. 22 at King Abdulaziz Racecourse as Japan’s globetrotting star Forever Young (JPN) battled and bested Hong Kong’s world champion Romantic Warrior.
After breaking from the outermost post 14 under Ryusei Sakai and contesting the lead set by Walk of Stars (GB) from the two path in the 1,800-meter (about 1 1/8 miles) affair, Forever Young took a brief lead around the lone bend before co-favorite Romantic Warrior launched a five-wide, eye-catching run to take the advantage turning for home.
Making a bold rally back outside of that foe in the final strides, Forever Young dug deep to win by a neck in a swift time of 1:49.09. It was his second straight win after taking the Dec. 29 Tokyo Daishoten (G1) off a third-place finish in the Nov. 2 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif. The Breeders’ Cup World Championships return Oct. 31-Nov. 1 to the seaside track.
Fellow Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic alum Ushba Tesoro (JPN) rallied from last to finish a distant third, 10 1/2 lengths behind Romantic Warrior.
Trainer Yoshito Yahagi, who won his second Saudi Cup after sending out Panthalassa in 2023, was elated.
“No matter how many wins you have in The Saudi Cup, it is still a great feeling,” Yahagi said. “I didn’t (just) 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.”
“This is the best moment of my life,” added an over-the-moon Sakai. “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.”
Danny Shum, trainer of Romantic Warrior, the world’s top-earning racehorse, was satisfied, saying, “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.”
Forever Young and Romantic Warrior will both likely ship to Dubai to contest the Dubai World Cup (G1) and Dubai Turf (G1), Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series races for the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic and the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1), respectively.
Wilson Tesoro, Rattle N Roll, Ramjet (JPN), Facteur Cheval (IRE), Wait To Excel (GB), Wootton’sun (FR), Defunded (USA), Al Musmak (IRE), Walk of Stars, El Kodigo (ARG), and Intense For Me (ARG) completed the order of finish.
