The $20 million Saudi Cup (G1) is Saturday, Feb. 14, at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and US Racing is publishing profiles of all the contenders.
He’s an all-time great who has earned the most money in thoroughbred history and has never run a bad race. On Saturday, 3½ months after his victory in the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), Forever Young will try to repeat as champion in the world’s richest race, the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1).
He’ll be heavily favored, and if he doesn’t win, it will be shocking. His trainer, Yoshito Yahagi, expects another brilliant performance going 1 1/8 miles around one turn at King Abdulaziz Racecourse.
“Forever Young is an amazing horse,” Yahagi said. “The anti-clockwise track and the long home straight really suit him in Saudi Arabia, and (jockey Ryusei) Sakai knows everything about him.”
Sakai rode a tactically brilliant race in the 1¼-mile Classic at Del Mar, tracking the pace in second before taking the lead on the far turn. He drew clear at the top of the stretch and held off defending champ Sierra Leone by a half-length.
The 28-year-old native of Tokyo is one of Japan’s top jockeys and only two noses away from sweeping the Kentucky Derby (G1), the Saudi Cup, and the Classic on Forever Young.
“Their partnership is very reliable,” Yahagi said in what may be the understatement of the century.
He’ll be a heavy favorite, so the odds will probably be too low for a win bet. Play him on top of exactas with Nysos.
Notes: “Winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic definitely brought about a big change in the Japanese racing industry,” Yahagi said. “Horse racing is still not the biggest sport in Japan, but I would like to continue working to grow it.” … Yahagi, the only Japanese trainer to win a Breeders’ Cup race, swept the Filly & Mare Turf (G1) and the Distaff (G1) at Del Mar in 2021. He also took the 2023 Saudi Cup with Panthalassa … He’s a colorful character with a large collection of hats from around the world.
Ed McNamara is an award-winning racing writer who has covered the sport since 1981 for The Bergen (N.J.) Record, Newsday, ESPN, Thorocap, and USRacing. He is the author of Cajun Racing: From the Bush Tracks to the Triple Crown and Racing Around the World, and a contributor to The Most Glorious Crown and The Racetracks of America. He has also written for racing publications in France and Italy.
