Forever Young Outside, Romantic Warrior Inside for Saudi Cup

[Wandering Eyes]

RIYADH, KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA — Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}), a Group 1 winner at the back end of 2024 in the Tokyo Daishoten and third in the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Breeders' Cup Classic, will jump from the widest alley in barrier 14 for Saturday's G1 Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh. Post positions were drawn Wednesday evening at the racecourse.

Also victorious in a thrilling renewal of the G3 Saudi Derby 12 months ago, the 4-year-old colt will once again have the services of Ryusei Sakai for trainer Yoshito Yahagi, who said: “I prefer the outside to the inside,” after selecting the outside gate.

Katie McDonald (ex Mallyon) was assigned the somewhat inenviable task of pulling the post position for Hong Kong Horse of the Year Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) and by all accounts, she performed well after electing the three hole. Her husband James McDonald rides the last-out G1 Jebel Hatta hero for trainer Danny Shum.

American representative Rattle N Roll (Connect) will begin his Saudi Cup bid from barrier eight with Joel Rosario calling the shots for trainer Ken McPeek. The 6-year-old earned his Saudi Cup ticket courtesy of a victory in the G3 Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup a month back.

Facteur Cheval (Ire) (Ribchester {Ire}), a latest third to Walk of Stars (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) when trying dirt for the first time in the G1 Al Maktoum Challenge at Meydan last month, has gate 12. Mickael Barzalona has the mount for Jerome Reynier. Walk of Stars, representing Dubai World Cup-winning conditioner Bhupat Seemar, has the six with Tadhg O'Shea up.

At the outset of the draw ceremony, Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute) was officially recognized as the winner of the inaugural running of the Saudi Cup in 2020. Last year, the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia officially disqualified first-past-the-post Maximum Security owing to the conviction of trainer Jason Servis for his use of prohibited substances in many of his horses.

Saturday, King Abdulaziz Racecourse (Riyadh), Saudi Arabia

SAUDI CUP-G1, $20,000,000, NH/SH4yo/up, 1800m

SC (PP), HORSE (SIRE), JOCKEY, TRAINER

1 (10), Al Musmak (Ire) (Night of Thunder {Ire}), Aldaham, Aldaihani

2 (11), Defunded (Dialed In), Fresu, Meshref

3 (13), El Kodigo (Arg) (Equal Stripes {Arg}), Calvente, Meshref

4 (12), Facteur Cheval (Ire) (Ribchester {Ire}), Barzalona, Reynier

5 (14), Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}), Sakai, Yahagi

6 (2), Intense For Me (Arg) (Fortify), Ospina, Meshref

7 (9), Ramjet (Jpn) (Majestic Warrior), Miura, Sasaki

8 (7), Rattle N Roll (Connect), Rosario, McPeek

9 (3), Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), McDonald, Shum

10 (1), Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}), Sugawara, Takagi

11 (8), Wait To Excel (GB) (Postponed), Alfouraidi, Aldaihani

12 (6), Walk of Stars (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), O'Shea, Seemar

13 (4), Wilson Tesoro (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}), Kawada, Takagi

14 (5), Wootton'sun (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), Ferreira, Al Kahtani

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