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.
Luxor Cafe qualified for the 2025 Kentucky Derby (G1) by way of the Japan road to the Derby, then finished 12th in the Run for the Roses.
Since his return to Japan, the 4-year-old son of 2025 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah has raced three times, finishing third in the Japan Dirt Classic, winning the Musashino Stakes (G3), and most recently running 15th in the Champions Cup (G1) on Dec. 7 after leaving from an outside post in a roughly run race.
Trainer Noriyuki Hori believes Luxor Cafe is capable of challenging the likes of prohibitive favorite Forever Young and Bob Baffert’s duo of Nysos and Nevada Beach.
After a steady workout on Tuesday at King Abdulaziz Racecourse, Hori’s assistant trainer, Naoto Suzuki, said: “He was highly adaptable when we went to the U.S. and easily adjusted to new environments, so he didn’t have much trouble this time either. Since he had already been conditioned and had done almost what he needed in Japan, today’s workout was planned to avoid leaving any fatigue.”
Luxor Cafe has won five of nine races in Japan. He may have traveled well to the U.S., but he did not fare well at all in the Derby. He hopped at the start, got away slow under jockey Joao Moreira, was caught in traffic, bumped with Baeza at the three-sixteenths pole and faded in the stretch.
“We had a gate handler during a gate practice this morning, anticipating a situation in the actual race where the horses on either side might also have gate handlers,’’ added Suzuki.
Moreira recently said, “He’s done enough to deserve a ticket into that race. I rode his full-brother Cafe Pharoah when he ran very well in the Saudi Cup. It’s a really good race this time, but I’m hoping he can run a good race like his brother did.”
He may be a son of a Triple Crown winner, but taking on a top-flight field of Grade 1 winners seems too tall an order. In two Grade 1s, he’s finished 12th and 15th.
Notes: Earned berth into 2025 Derby with victories in the Hyacinth Stakes and Fukuryu Stakes, Derby point qualifiers on the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby ... Luxor Cafe is a full brother to Cafe Pharoah, who topped the 2020 Japan Road to the Derby but didn’t ship for that pandemic-delayed Derby. Cafe Pharoah ultimately developed into a Japanese champion at the age of five.
Richard Rosenblatt is an award-winning journalist and former Associated Press Horse Racing Editor. Currently, he serves as the news editor at US Racing, overseeing exclusive content from contributors worldwide.
