Joao Moreira takes five rides for Japan in Saudi
Joao Moreira will head to Riyadh next week for the Saudi Cup meeting where he has been booked for five Japanese contenders, including the Noriyuki Hori-trained Luxor Cafe in the US$20 million feature.
The former Hong Kong champion has also been locked in to ride the Yukihiro Kato-trained Keiai Agito in the G3 Saudi Derby, Gabby’s Sister for trainer Kazutomo Mori in the G2 Riyadh Dirt Sprint, the Hori-trained Struve in the G2 Red Sea Turf Handicap and the Shinsuke Hashiguchi-trained Panja Tower in the G2 1351 Turf Sprint.
The Brazilian is under no illusions as to the task Luxor Cafe will face in the G1 Saudi Cup with last year’s winner Forever Young – recently crowned Japan’s Horse of the Year and North America’s champion older dirt male – back to defend his title in the 1800m dirt track contest.
Forever Young rallied to overhaul Hong Kong’s Romantic Warrior in what will go down as one of the sports’ all-time great races when winning last year, and subsequently proved his brilliance with victory against the Americans on their own patch in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar in November.
Behind Forever Young in California was Nevada Beach, who followed that well-beaten seventh with second-place to Nysos in the G2 Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes at Santa Anita on December 28. Those Bob Baffert-trained stablemates are also engaged for the Riyadh feature.
Luxor Cafe has also been to the US, to contest the G1 Kentucky Derby last May. Moreira was in the saddle that day but the colt was a weakening 12th of 19 at Churchill Downs; horse and jockey had teamed up for a smart victory leading into that effort, one that completed four on the bounce for the American Pharoah colt who is a full-brother to the two-time G1 February Stakes winner Cafe Pharoah.
“I’ve ridden Luxor Cafe a couple of times before and one of those races I won on him in Japan, a race at Nakayama, and the other was in the Kentucky Derby, so hopefully he will run well,” Moreira told Idol Horse.
Luxor Cafe returned from a summer break following his Kentucky exertions to run third behind the enigmatic front-runner Narukami in the Jpn1 JBC Classic over 2000m at Oi in early October. He took plenty of kickback from the sharp white sand that night, but returned to his best to win the G3 Musashino Stakes at Tokyo in mid-November.
The colt was trapped wide from an outside gate in the G1 Champions Cup last time; worked hard to maintain his position and faded out from the home turn. But Moreira is keeping faith that Luxor Cafe has enough about him to run a good race in Riyadh, as his brother did for him when third behind the runaway Panthalassa in the 2023 Saudi Cup.
“He’s done enough to deserve a ticket into that race,” Moreira said. “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.
“Forever Young being there makes it one of the toughest dirt races in the world, maybe the toughest, because what Forever Young has done is amazing. He’s the best dirt horse in the world.”
The Brazilian ace is looking forward to riding Panja Tower in the G2 1351 Turf Sprint. The four-year-old won the G1 NHK Mile Cup last spring and added the G3 Keeneland Cup first-up after a break before a last-start fifth of 16 in the lucrative Golden Eagle at Royal Randwick, Australia.
Moreira’s Riyadh Dirt Sprint contender Gabby’s Sister heads into that race after running fourth in the G3 Capella Stakes, a race she won last year en route to finishing third in the Saudi race behind the American speedster Straight No Chaser.
Struve is winless in seven runs and was 10th last time in the G1 Japan Cup but is down in class for the 3000m G2 Red Sea Turf Handicap, allocated a weight of 58kg. And his last win came with Moreira in the saddle, the G2 Meguro Kinen over 2500m in May 2024.
Moreira’s Saudi Derby mount Keiai Agito has won the last two of his three starts, most recently on December 14, a narrow score in an 1800m contest at Nakayama.
Luxor Cafe, Panja Tower, Keiai Agito and Struve all hold entries at the Dubai World Cup meeting at the end of March, so if any run well in Riyadh, the Brazilian would be an option to take the reins around Meydan.
This Week In Horse Racing History
Lammtarra, the undefeated winner of the Derby, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in 1995 was born on February 2, 1992. The colt raced only once as a two-year-old in 1994, winning for trainer Alex Scott, who was murdered on September 30 that year at age 34. Lammtarra won the Derby first-up as a three-year-old for trainer Saeed bin Suroor, having suffered a dangerous colic earlier that year. Twenty years later, February 2 was the foaling date of the American Triple Crown winner, American Pharoah. The colt was the first in history to win the Triple Crown and the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Diane Crump made history on February 7, 1969 when in the seventh race at Hialeah Park she became the first female jockey to compete in a parimutuel race in the United States. She had required a Police escort to the track to protect her from hostility against women being allowed to compete in professional horse racing, and crossed the finish line 10th of 12 aboard Bridle ‘n Bit, a 48-1 chance. The following year she became the first woman to ride in the Kentucky Derby and had her last race ride in 1999. Crump died on January 1, 2026 at age 77.
February 8, 1983 was a terrible night in racing history. A gang of armed and masked men stole the Aga Khan’s 1981 Derby winner Shergar from Ballmany Stud in County Kildare, Ireland. A £2 million ransom was demanded but not paid and Shergar was never seen again. The Sunday Telegraph in 2008 reported an IRA source as saying a machine gun was used to kill the horse inside the stable box he had been taken to.
Idol Horse Reads Of The Week
Providence was at play last weekend, writes David Morgan. Frankie Dettori’s Group 1 win in Rio de Janeiro was the final act of brilliance in the legend’s career as he retired from the saddle beneath the outstretched arms of the Christ the Redeemer statue. The day before, in Cape Town, another of the sport’s talented and at times troubled 50-something champions gained incredible redemption with his first win in the G1 Cape Town Met.
Little Paradise was “impressive” in winning the Hong Kong Classic Mile, says Shane Dye in this week’s Idol Thoughts column, but he still has questions to answer. The former top jockey breaks down the first leg of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series and reminds us that the Derby isn’t won until March.
Umamusume: Pretty Derby is on the march. Cosplaying fans of the game have been gathering in person at points around the world, including at racetracks far away from the game’s Japan base, and David Morgan has taken a look into the phenomenon.
Tom Marquand was on his travels again last weekend, adding the Indian Derby to his conquests. Last March, Idol Horse spoke to the rider about his schedule and the amount of travel it takes to establish a position as a top international jockey these days.
Racing Photo Of The Week
A giant horse sculpted from snow gallops past a row of sculpted poplar trees, the jockey saluting an imagined crowd. The feature, which symbolises ‘a bright future for thoroughbreds’ is on display at the Sapporo Snow Festival which opened this week in Sapporo, Hokkaido, and it was the Japan Racing Association’s (JRA) Sapporo racecourse that sponsored the whole event. The sculpture stands 16 metres high, 11 metres wide and 14.5 metres deep and took 150 10-ton trucks of snow, about 1,100 people, and 28 days to create.
Date
4 February, 2026
Photographer
@JRASapporoRC
Location
Sapporo
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A giant horse sculpted from snow gallops past a row of sculpted poplar trees, the jockey saluting an imagined crowd. The feature, which symbolises ‘a bright future for thoroughbreds’ is on display at the Sapporo Snow Festival which opened this week in Sapporo, Hokkaido, and it was the Japan Racing Association’s (JRA) Sapporo racecourse that sponsored the whole event. The sculpture stands 16 metres high, 11 metres wide and 14.5 metres deep and took 150 10-ton trucks of snow, about 1,100 people, and 28 days to create.
Global Blackbook
Hidrix is a name to keep tabs on if his impressive debut at Rosehill is any indication. Zac Lloyd settled the grey colt on the rail, switched out with 250m to go and asked him to show some dash: Hidrix answered by quickening to the lead and won the G3 Canonbury Stakes eased down by almost two lengths.
The win sent the Chris Waller-trained juvenile tumbling into equal favouritism for Australia’s greatest two-year-old race, next month’s G1 Golden Slipper. To be fair, Hidrix has the pedigree of a Group 1 horse, being by Extreme Choice out of Shadow, making him a brother to this season’s G1-winning filly Apocalyptic – and he did cost A$1.7 million as a yearling.
Still, the price tag and the breeding are one thing, but the most important is that they can do it on the track and Hidrix has made the kind of start that suggests he could make it to the top.
Hidrix with a stunning debut in the Canonbury 🤯
— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) January 31, 2026
The $1.7M Colt causes an upset for Zac Lloyd and Chris Waller, he is a full brother to Apocalyptic 👀@ZacLloydx @cwallerracing pic.twitter.com/iZtahwCd8D
World Horse Racing Calendar: What’s Coming Up
Lightning Stakes
Flemington, Australian, February 14
Tentyris, the G1 Coolmore Stud Stakes winner, is the warm ante-post favourite for the G1 Black Caviar Lightning Stakes over 1000m, with Damian Lane booked in to ride following Mark Zahra ‘s injury. The Godolphin-owned three-year-old could clash with another in the royal blue silks, the Chris Waller-trained Beiwacht, winner of the G1 Golden Rose: the colt was fourth in the Coolmore Stud Stakes. Giga Kick is back in the groove and is on a hat-trick after winning his last two, notably the G1 Champions Sprint last time.
Saudi Cup Day
King Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabia, February 14
Forever Young will attempt to win the world’s richest race for the second year in a row when he lines up for the G1 Saudi Cup. His last win came in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar last November, in which he defeated the Saudi Cup bound Bob Baffert-trained Nevada Beach. The card features international contenders across the board and the newly-upgraded G1 Neom Turf Cup over 2100m is the aim for last season’s winner Shin Emperor and fellow Japanese raider Alohi Alii.
Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup
Sha Tin, Hong Kong, February 22
Will this be the day Silent Witness’s Hong Kong record of 17 straight wins falls? That’s the likely outcome as the incredible Ka Ying Rising shoots for his 18th straight win at short odds. His G1 Centenary Sprint Cup win last time simply confirmed that he is in a different league to his rivals and in winning this race last year he showed that 1400m will not be an issue.
Chipping Norton Stakes
Randwick, Australia, February 28
There’ll be no Via Sistina in this year’s Verry Elleegant Stakes, so no repeat win, since she retired to the paddock recently. But mares do have an outstanding record in the mile contest in recent times and the unbeaten four-year-old filly Autumn Glow, winner of the Golden Eagle last start, is likely to head there after she has contested the 1400m Apollo Stakes on February 14. Sir Delius, Ceolwulf and another Waller-trained filly, last year’s Australian Derby heroine Aeliana, could also be in the race.
Australian Guineas
Flemington, Australia, February 28
The winners of the G2 Sandown Guineas and G1 Caulfield Guineas could clash in the G1 Australian Guineas. The Saxon Warrior filly Sheza Alibi made it four wins from seven in the Sandown Guineas last time. Autumn Boy’s win at Caulfield was his third from five starts.
Dubai Super Saturday
Meydan, UAE, February 28
The Bhupat Seemar-trained Imperial Emperor emerged as a strong G1 Dubai World Cup candidate when he won the G1 Al Maktoum Challenge at Meydan last time. He could try to confirm that potential on Super Saturday in the G2 Al Maktoum Classic, a race that might also feature the 2024 Dubai World Cup winner Laurel River who has not raced for more than a year.
