Forever Young and Romantic Warrior serve up all-time classic duel in Saudi Cup
For a few heart-rending moments it looked as though Romantic Warrior (Acclamation) would hold on in the sixth running of the world’s richest race, the Saudi Cup (Gr 1, 1800m).
The packed crowd was willing Hong Kong’s all-time leading prize-earner home, and as the ten-time Group 1 winner swept around the home turn with regular partner James McDonald still motionless in the saddle, many would have thought the job was done.
However, on an evening when Japan ruled the roost – taking home four of the six thoroughbred Group races – it should not have been a surprise the all-conquering nation would land the US$20 million (approx. AU$31.7 million) Riyadh feature.
A strong tempo was made from the outset, with Romantic Warrior settling behind pacemakers Walk Of Stars (Dubawi) and Al Musmak (Night Of Thunder) having broken smartly. The same could be said for Forever Young (4 c Real Steel – Forever Darling by Congrats), who also kept tabs with the leaders and has now picked up his second Group 1 win in a row, after keeping on strongly up the home straight and sweeping past Romantic Warrior close home.
Ultimately, the younger legs of Forever Young just took down the old warrior, a neck being the winning margin. It was a thriller of a race and showed the amazing strength in depth of Japanese racing, although one could not help but feel for Romantic Warrior and his connections after such an effort on his first dirt start.
To put the pair’s superiority in clear perspective, the third-placed Ushba Tesoro (Orfevre) – a neck second in last year’s contest and winner of the 2023 Dubai World Cup (Gr 1, 2000m) – was a further ten and a half lengths back.
Winning rider Ryusei Sakai said: “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.”
Forever Young was a second winner of the Saudi Cup for legendary trainer Yoshito Yahagi, who had struck earlier in the card with Neom Turf Cup (Gr 2, 2000m) winner Shin Emperor (Siyouni). His 2023 hero had been Panthalassa (Lord Kanaloa), an all-the-way winner.
The trainer, sporting his usual colourful hat, said: “This is my second win in the Saudi Cup, but no matter how many wins you have in this race, it is still a great feeling. I believed in him.
“When he came here to run in the Saudi Derby, he was not in the best condition and yet 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.”
On the gallant runner-up, McDonald said: “He ran incredibly well. I was very proud of him. He flowed into the race well and used his momentum nicely. It was a terrific effort.
“He was gallant in defeat, the race worked out perfectly for us. He got a little bit of kickback but 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 a great horse Forever Young is, and what a race it was.”
Equally proud trainer Danny Shum added: “The winner is very good and didn’t beat us by very much. It was his first run on the dirt and we were beaten only by Forever Young, and he is a very tough dirt horse.
“We were beaten a neck. 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. He’ll go back to Meydan for the Dubai Turf.”