The indomitable Forever Young will look to land back-to-back victories in the US$20 million (approx. HK$156 million) G1 Saudi Cup (1800m) on the Riyadh dirt at 1.40am (Hong Kong time) on Sunday (15 February).
Forever Young landed gate six at Wednesday night’s (11 February) barrier draw, an alley trainer Yoshito Yahagi called “a good number” for the King Abdulaziz Racecourse.
“We don’t have to change anything with tactics. Honestly, I feel a lot of pressure on my shoulders bringing a defending champion, but Forever Young doesn’t feel any pressure at all,” he said.
While there is no Romantic Warrior this year and Forever Young’s main opposition looks to come from the American contingent, Yahagi still felt compelled to reflect on the great battle of 12 months ago that saw the Japanese giant repel the Hong Kong champion by a narrow margin in an absolute epic.
“I didn’t think he would be beaten by any horse,” Yahagi said. “But I wasn’t completely sure about Romantic Warrior, as it was his first time racing on dirt. If Forever Young was going to be beaten, it had to be by Romantic Warrior.
“It was unbelievable. To be honest, I thought we had been beaten at the finish. It was a great race.”
Forever Young was last seen scooping the G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic (2000m, dirt) at Del Mar in November and he has had a longer time between runs in the lead-up to this year’s Saudi Cup compared to 2025.
“He skipped the Tokyo Daishoten (G1, 2000m, dirt) after the Breeders’ Cup,” Yahagi said, referring to the race Forever Young won before surging to Saudi Cup victory a year ago.
“He was carrying a little extra weight at first, but he has been improving steadily. The anti-clockwise track and the long home straight really suit him in Saudi.”
Bob Baffert-trained pair Nysos and Nevada Beach are among Forever Young’s main rivals, with the former hit with gate 12 while the latter has alley seven.
“I’d rather be on the outside than the inside,” Baffert said about Nysos.
“As long as the horse shows up, that is more important. I think he is a really good horse and has always shown brilliance. He’s a trier and knows where the wire is. From the outside he will have a clear run.”
Elsewhere on the biggest night in Saudi racing, Self Improvement will chase more overseas success in the G2 Riyadh Dirt Sprint (1200m, dirt).
Victorious in September’s G3 Korea Sprint (1200m) on sand, Manfred Man’s Self Improvement faces a tougher task in Riyadh.
“The horse is good, everything is fine, he was moving very well and he satisfied me,” Man said. “The race is quite strong and stronger than Seoul but all we can do is try our best. It is exciting as it is our first time in a Saudi Cup race.
“This is a great racecourse and we’ve come here to try the race, and feel very happy to represent Hong Kong, China. It is hard to say he has a good chance but I hope he will come quite close and we will try our best.”
Saudi Cup is carded as S2-7 and will be run at 1.40am (Hong Kong time) on Sunday, 15 February. The Riyadh Dirt Sprint is carded as S2-3 and will be run at 10.40pm (Hong Kong time) on Saturday, 14 February.
