Laurel River is the latest star name to exit the G1 Saudi Cup field but the Dubai World Cup winner’s trainer Bhupat Seemar still has eyes for the US$20 million Riyadh feature thanks to the in-form Walk Of Stars.
Seemar ruled out Laurel River on Wednesday after a “minor” training setback, and that meant the world’s top-rated dirt-track runner joined other high-profile withdrawals and absentees, the Stateside gallopers White Abarrio, Soul Of An Angel, and Locked, as well as Sierra Leone.
“We missed an intended workout with Laurel River, so it’s a hiccup, it’s not an injury that has ruled him out,” Seemar stressed to Idol Horse, after initial media reports incorrectly stated the seven-year-old was injured and might need a period of recovery.
“He was supposed to work on Monday and we didn’t do that. It was nothing major but enough to miss his work and we had to give him one or two easy days; that meant he would have been going to Saudi with one gallop and we always intended to do two.
“Because we missed that workout, I didn’t want to travel him to such a big race without his proper training plan,” Seemar continued. “I didn’t want to go to the race not firing at 100 per cent, because what’s the point in a race like that? So, we are going to aim him at the Dubai World Cup.”
That leaves Walk Of Stars to take on Japan’s dirt track heavyweight Forever Young and Hong Kong’s brilliant champion Romantic Warrior in the Saudi Cup over 1800m on February 22. With Laurel River out, Seemar said the UAE champion jockey Tadhg O’Shea will switch to Walk Of Stars.
“Walk Of Stars galloped on Monday and he’s in rude health, good form, and all is good for him,” Seemar said. “He has one more gallop to go, next Monday, and then we’ll ship out on Tuesday.”
Walk Of Stars was second in last year’s G2 Godolphin Mile on the day his stablemate Laurel River hogged the headlines with an impressive Dubai World Cup triumph, but the six-year-old has gone to a new peak this campaign. The Dubawi gelding emphasised his Saudi Cup credentials last time with a strong front-running victory in the G1 Al Maktoum Challenge over 1900m at Meydan.
Seemar knows too well the quality of opposition Walk Of Stars must face at King Abdulaziz Racetrack but believes his charge has the attributes to be a serious contender.
“Forever Young is still in there, and Romantic Warrior: the Saudi Cup is the Saudi Cup, it’s never going to be easy,” he said. “But I think Walk Of Stars will like that track more than some of the other horses might. That Saudi track is a little bit deeper (than Meydan) and I think it suits those kind of turf horses, so I think Walk Of Stars is going to like the track. He’s got tactical speed, so hopefully he’s going to be right up there.
“This horse is very tactical, you can sit wherever you want on him. He breaks well, he travels well, you can sit second, third, or fourth if you want, and you can sit right up there. He’s very uncomplicated that way.”
Walk Of Stars is a Godolphin-bred and raced in the royal blue for trainer Charlie Appleby, winning minor turf contests in Britain and even running home last in the 2022 G1 Derby at Epsom. But he has gone to a new level since he joined Seemar’s operation in 2023 and switched to dirt.
“I think he is a world of talent, he’s just a little bit of a quirky horse,” the trainer revealed. “He looks at everything, he thinks he’s still a two-year-old: if you see him on the track or anywhere that he’s around, he’s always got his ears pricked and looking at everything. Sometimes he can be unsure of things but when he gets that confidence, that’s when he starts to do really well.”
Seemar will ship another European import to Riyadh for the big night: Trafalgar Square goes in the G2 Red Sea Turf Handicap. That will be the four-year-old’s first start for Seemar’s Zabeel Stables, having been bought after placing second in the G2 Prix Chaudenay at Longchamp in early October.
“He’s doing great, I just wish we would have had a run into him earlier, but he was bought a little bit late and we couldn’t get a run into him. But he’s doing as well as he can, he’s a good horse, he’s healthy and he’s training well,” Seemar said.
“The plan is to come back to Dubai afterwards and probably go for the Dubai Gold Cup. I think he can go on any ground, he’s an uncomplicated horse.”
And Meydan on April 5 is also the longer range plan for Laurel River and Walk Of Stars, with Seemar planning to have them both firing that night for what he hopes will be another Dubai World Cup triumph ∎
