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“Why Not Try?”: All Systems Go For Romantic Warrior’s Saudi Cup Bid

The picture surrounding the world’s richest race became more intriguing after a dramatic night at Meydan produced a number of contenders.

“Why Not Try?”: All Systems Go For Romantic Warrior’s Saudi Cup Bid

The picture surrounding the world’s richest race became more intriguing after a dramatic night at Meydan produced a number of contenders.

ROMANTIC WARRIOR is bound for the world’s richest race, the USD$20 million Saudi Cup (1800m), after he made a spectacular winning debut in the Middle East in an eventful G1 Jebel Hatta (1800m) at Meydan on Friday night.

The world’s highest earning horse was the headline act on Dubai’s Fashion Friday as his travelling bandwagon moved on to the United Arab Emirates. The Hong Kong champion’s 10th Group 1 victory in the Jebel Hatta was extraordinary, one that would be replayed time and time again if not for the tragic demise of defending champion Measured Time.

An ice-cool ride from James McDonald saw him sit quietly even as William Buick aboard Measured Time ran to a 10-length lead. If the crowd trackside thought he was in trouble on turning, the Kiwi rider remained calm, trusting his horse beneath him and the even 450-metre straight ahead of him to be able to run his main rival down.

The result was beyond doubt even before Measured Time went amiss over the concluding stages as Romantic Warrior won by four and a half lengths in track record time.

“I just love the way he did it,” McDonald said. “He was very fresh in the parade ring, just with that longer gap between runs, but he focused on his way down to the start and he did everything right. I never felt in any doubt at all – he travelled so well and when we turned for home, I could see the leader so far in front but he was picking up a length with every stride.

“He adapts to anything – any distance, any place, he knows what he has to do. You could put him on a saucepan and he’d run well. The Saudi Cup, though – your guess is as good as mine on dirt because the truth is, I don’t know. One thing I do know is that he will try his best and he will give a great sight. Whether he can win, I’m not too sure, but I wouldn’t swap him for anything.”

JAMES MCDONALD, DANNY SHUM / Meydan // 2025 /// Photo by Alex Evers/Hong Kong Jockey Club

Shum confirmed that Romantic Warrior was booked to fly from Dubai to Riyadh on February 7, but connections are awaiting confirmation of that date from the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia due to Chinese New Year logistics.

“The owner Peter (Lau), he said to me that we may only ever have one chance to have a go at the world’s richest race and so why not try,” Shum said. “He said that once in your life you have to try and so that’s what we will do. Trying has given us a Cox Plate, a Yasuda Kinen and a Jebel Hatta so I have to thank Peter for what he has allowed us to do with his champion.

“In Hong Kong, he has trialled well on the dirt, but trials and races are different. But I know he will try his heart out and I will try my absolute best to give him every chance in the Saudi Cup. But he is a champion, just look at him today. Even the best horses can’t close that margin, but I was never worried. I had complete trust in James and Romantic Warrior and they proved they are champions. I love the horse so much and I know that he knows I love him.”

Facteur Cheval To Add French Sparkle

The Jebel Hatta was the second of two Group 1 races run at Meydan on Friday night, following the Al Maktoum Challenge (1900m) on dirt. Trainer Bhupat Seemar added to his already strong Saudi Cup hand as Walk Of Stars led throughout under Tadhg O’Shea to take his first feature at the highest level.

“The owners are from Saudi Arabia and so I am certain they will want to give him a go,” Seemar said. “He’s always been the bridesmaid but he’s now getting the attention he deserves. With his form this season, he has earned his spot but we know that the Dubai World Cup will also be a suitable race for him. He’s just proving so tough to pass at the moment.”

It was a quinella for Seemar with former Godolphin trainees as Imperial Emperor stayed on for second, while last year’s Dubai Turf winner Facteur Cheval surpassed the expectations of both trainer Jerome Reynier and jockey Mickael Barzalona by closing off late for third at his dirt debut despite copping the worst of the kickback throughout.

“When we talked with Mickael before the race, we said to him that we didn’t care about winning today,” Reynier said. “We just needed to know after this race whether he handled the dirt, handled the kickback, handled the conditions. It was all about learning with him today.

“Mickael came back and said that he took a lot of kickback, the horse didn’t mind and was still running on. He was very courageous. He’s an amazing horse, he’s a champion in my eyes. We wanted to see if he could switch and be as good on the dirt. The answer is: maybe not as good, but maybe next time, he’ll be improving having run on the surface and he might just be able to be as good on dirt next time.”

A return to grass is likely in April with a Dubai Turf defence on the agenda but first, he may be given his chance at the Saudi Cup next month.

“We’re going to see how he comes back, but if he’s safe and sound and we’re happy with him, we can give it a go,” he said. “If we do go to Saudi Arabia, it will be a different scenario to here. It’s only one bend, there are a lot of American and Japanese horses who will force the pace as well as the horses we’ve seen here tonight. There’s no break in the race, it’s relentless.

“He’s got the stamina, he handles the dirt and he’s ticking more and more boxes for us to consider going to the Saudi Cup. That’s really what we wanted to see.”

“Nothing Lost”: Laurel River Beaten But On Track

Walk Of Stars’ main opponent on the lead in Riyadh will likely be his stablemate Laurel River, the world’s joint highest-rated horse of 2024. Last year’s Dubai World Cup winner led at an unsustainable tempo on his return in the G3 Firebreak Stakes (1600m) but it took until right on the wire for the enigmatic King Gold to run him down.

Seemar was unperturbed with the defeat and confirmed that the Saudi Cup would be his intended next start, although he believes the Riyadh track may not prove as suitable as the Meydan dirt.

“He got beaten at his first run back in America, he got beaten at his first run back here last year and he’s a horse that always improves with a race,” he said. “We didn’t want to tighten all the screws and there’s massive improvement to come from here. He ran a bit fresh, he went some serious fractions there, he gave two kilograms away to the winner who just beat him on the line. Nothing lost in defeat, really.

“This was only a prep run; it’s the next two that matter. Saudi is currently the plan, just that track needs to be a little bit faster. It’s a bit too deep that track and sometimes it doesn’t suit the fast dirt horses, but that includes a lot of horses that come from America as well. Then we’ve got the World Cup defence after that and that’s his main goal.”

One horse that will not be chasing Saudi riches is King Gold, with assistant trainer Marine Henry – wife of trainer Nicolas Caullery – confirming that the grey would remain in Dubai through until the end of the carnival in April.

“He ran on the turf in Saudi last year and didn’t come out of it the best,” she said. “I’ve been wanting to see him on dirt again for a long time and I’ve been trying to convince Nicolas, but you know how men are. He’s finally listened to me and look what happened!

“We won’t take the risk with Riyadh again and we will stay here and look at the Godolphin Mile, he could run on Super Saturday too. I was crying when he was going to run a long, long second and so you can only imagine how I cried when the commentator said he’d won. I don’t drink much but I’m going in to have a big drink.”

Further Contenders To Emerge

Meydan marked the start of a big weekend of Saudi Cup trials that will determine the field for the February 22 feature.

Saturday’s Riyadh lead-up, the G3 The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup at the Saudi Cup course and distance, sees American raiders Rattle N Roll and E J Won The Cup against top locals such as Carmel Road, Defunded, Badr and defending champion Power In Numbers.

Across in the United States, a host of potential contenders will contest the G1 Pegasus World Cup (9f) at Gulfstream Park, including Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan, last year’s Saudi Cup placegetter Saudi Crown and Grade 1 winners Locked, White Abarrio and Stronghold.

SIERRA LEONE, FOREVER YOUNG, MYSTIK DAN / Churchill Downs // 2024 /// Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Should Mystik Dan book a spot in Riyadh, he will likely face a rematch with the two horses he beat in a Derby photo finish for the ages: Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Sierra Leone and Japanese star Forever Young.

Elsewhere, Argentina’s top older horse El Kodigo is also on track for the race as Saudi owners are in the process of acquiring him for an ambitious Middle East campaign. The four-year-old is a five-time Group 1 winner on both dirt and turf from 1600m to 2400m ∎

Andrew Hawkins is the Idol Horse Globetrotter. Andrew’s deep passion for international racing has taken him to all corners of the world, including Hong Kong, where he was based for five years. He has worked with media outlets including South China Morning Post, Racing Post, ANZ Bloodstock News, Sky Racing Australia and World Horse Racing, as well as for organisations including the Hong Kong Jockey Club and Victoria Racing Club.

View all articles by Andrew Hawkins.

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