World Racing Weekly: Pyromancer, Danon Decile & Hard Kick

Pyromancer On The Forever Young Path To Dubai, Dreaming Of Kentucky

It was mission accomplished for Forever Young in Saudi Arabia last Saturday, so attention now shifts to Dubai next month where the rest of the Japanese raiders will be looking to improve on a Riyadh showing which, the great horse aside, was pretty moderate.

The biggest eye-catcher in defeat for Japan was Satono Voyage in the G3 Saudi Derby who travelled sweetly until he seemed to hit the stamina wall and faded to third under Keita Tosaki.

The colt’s failure to win scotched any notions of a Kentucky Derby tilt, but that’s exactly what Pyromancer’s connections are still dreaming about as they look to the G2 UAE Derby at Meydan next month.

Pyromancer was not in Saudi, but his trainer Keiji Yoshimura was, and he told Idol Horse trackside in Riyadh that the unbeaten colt would be returning to the Ritto training centre that weekend to prepare for Dubai.

“He will come back to the stable from his spell,” he said and confirmed that the UAE Derby into the Kentucky Derby is the hope.

That’s the route Forever Young took two years ago, winning the UAE race before placing third at Churchill Downs.

“I cannot be confident that he will handle going from the UAE Derby to Kentucky Derby because it’s not easy to do,” Yoshimura said. “It’s a dream to go to Kentucky, but for now we’ll focus on the UAE Derby and hopefully he can grab the chance.”

Pyromancer is unbeaten in three runs in Japan, just as Forever Young was when he made his first foray to Saudi Arabia, and like the champion, the Godolphin homebred posted a newcomer win at Kyoto in October before winning the Jpn1 Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun at Kawasaki at start three.

“Looking at Pyromancer’s races in Japan, I feel like he hasn’t shown his real potential yet,” Yoshimura added.

Jockey Mirai Iwata has faith in Pyromancer’s ability to measure up in Dubai, and he is also backing himself to emerge as a rider on the world stage.

“Kawasaki was his first night race so he was a bit confused by that but usually he is a very easy horse,” Iwata told Idol Horse. 

“I think Dubai will work for him, and the distance of that race should not be a problem. In his three races in Japan, he has adopted different run styles as part of his education and because of this we know he has versatility.”

Iwata, 25, the son of Lord Kanaloa’s rider Yasunari Iwata, has been developing his versatility in recent years, gaining summer experience in France and Britain. Two summers back he had six rides in France for one winner: last summer he was based at William Haggas’ Newmarket stable in England and rode at the Shergar Cup.

“Tom Marquand was riding in Japan, he is the stable jockey for William Haggas, so I asked him if he could help me go there last summer to gain experience of racing in England,” Iwata said. “My English is not good, so that was tough, but it was a very good experience and I enjoyed it.

“I would like to get rides from overseas connections and I would also like to ride Japanese horses when they go overseas. I want to become an international rider but I need to improve my skills and experience to do that.”

Meanwhile, Tosaki is looking forward to attempting a repeat win in the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic next month with Danon Decile. The rider chose the 2024 Japan Derby winner instead of Regaleira in the G1 Arima Kinen last start when third, the same placing he had achieved in the G1 Japan Cup in November.

“Danon Decile was really, really strong in the Dubai Sheema Classic so that’s why I wanted to ride him, I wanted the same strength in the Arima Kinen,” Tosaki told Idol Horse. “Unfortunately, he showed his childish side again.”

That childishness had been evident at York last August when fifth in the G1 Juddmonte International Stakes and Tosaki said the five-year-old still hasn’t grown up.

“His tension was too high at York, so he wasn’t at his full strength, but since then he has progressed through his runs, it was a good run in the Japan Cup but Calandagan was really brilliant,” he said.

“When he won in Dubai he didn’t show his immaturity. But when I ride him, I pay attention to how he is behaving and I can cope with that, because he is still childish.”

This Week In Horse Racing History

Julie Krone made more history on February 16, 1999 at Fair Grounds when she became the first female jockey in history to ride 3500 winners.

It was on February 18, 2018 that the Bob Baffert-trained Justify made his racecourse debut at Santa Anita over seven furlongs. The colt was the 1-2 favourite and won by nine and a half lengths. He would go on to win the Triple Crown of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes, making him the first horse since Apollo in 1882 to win the Kentucky Derby without having raced as a two-year-old.

Orby was foaled on February 22, 1904. Trained by Fred McCabe, in 1907 the colt became the first Irish-trained horse to win the Derby at Epsom, and the first horse from anywhere  to complete the Derby-Irish Derby double.  

History was made at Charles Town, West Virginia on February 22, 1969 when Barbara Jo Rubin became the first woman jockey to win a parimutuel race in America. The horse she rode was called Cohesion.

Idol Horse Reads Of The Week

Shane Dye has a typically forthright take in this week’s Idol Thoughts column as he weighs into Australian whip rules and says stewards must act with more courage.

Shane Dye

Australian Whip Rules: Take The Race Off Them Or Don't Bother

Vincent Ho spoke candidly to David Morgan this week about where his confidence comes from, the notion of having to prove himself since returning to the saddle after serious injury, and the comparisons being made between Little Paradise and Golden Sixty.

David Morgan

Vincent Ho’s Confidence Comes From Within

Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges was front and centre on stage at last week’s Asian Racing Conference in his role as the Asian Racing Federation chairman, but he shared some of his incisive thoughts in a one to one with Idol Horse’s Adam Pengilly back in September.

Adam Pengilly

“The Industry Is At A Breaking Point”: EB’s Vision And How Horse Racing Needs To Tell Its Story Better

Racing Photo Of The Week

Date
15 February, 2026

Photographer
@Akauni294

Location
King Abdulaziz Racecourse, Riyadh

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Global Blackbook

Tentyris blasted from last to first under Damian Lane in a breathtaking G1 Lightning Stakes win on Saturday, but a year ago, on the same card, the Godolphin colt was winning the Listed Talindert Stakes.

Well, perhaps lightning will strike twice in two years, because Saturday’s Talindert Stakes winner was mightily impressive. Hard Kick rolled along in front, and when Lane asked him to quicken at the 300m point, the colt lived up to his name. The kick took him clear of the field in a few strides and he was easing at the line for close to a three-length win.

The Ben, Will and JD Hayes-trained Hard Kick had passed the post first in all three of his barrier trials leading into that debut run and although he will not contest the G1 Blue Diamond Stakes this Saturday, in which Tentyris was second last year, the expectation is that he will be competing at the top level before too long.

World Horse Racing Calendar: What’s Coming Up

Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup
Sha Tin, Hong Kong, February 22

The mighty Ka Ying Rising will be the centre of attention on Sunday when he will be long odds-on to win his 18th race in row. He currently shares the Hong Kong record for consecutive wins with Silent Witness. Ka Ying Rising won this 1400m contest last year and since then he has proved himself the best sprinter in the world thanks to his win in the G1 The Everest in Australia last year. He faces the same old rivals this time, including Helios Express and the former champion Lucky Sweynesse. Defeat would be an almighty shock.

Verry Elleegant (Chipping Norton) Stakes
Randwick, Australia, February 28

Australia’s latest star filly Autumn Glow made it nine races unbeaten with an easy win in the Apollo Stakes last Saturday and that should have put her spot on for the Verry Elleegant, which remains the target. If the four-year-old wins the race she will emulate star mares of recent times Via Sistina, Verry Elleegant and the best of them all, Winx.

Australian Guineas
Flemington, Australia, February 28

The G1 Victoria Derby winner Observer is current ante-post favourite for the Australian Guineas after his first-up win in the G2 Autumn Stakes on February 7. But the Ciaron Maher-trained colt is likely to face a Chris Waller-trained rival in last Saturday’s G3 CS Hayes Stakes winner Sixties.

Dubai Super Saturday
Meydan, UAE, February 28

Bhupat Seemar could hold the key to the night’s G1 Dubai World Cup trial, the G2 Al Maktoum Classic with two likely contenders being his stable’s 2024 Dubai World Cup winner Laurel River and the recent G1 Al Maktoum Challenge winner Imperial Emperor.

Hong Kong Gold Cup
Sha Tin, Hong Kong, March 1

Romantic Warrior is on track for the Hong Kong Triple Crown – open to all ages – after he defeated last year’s Triple Crown winner Voyage Bubble in the G1 Stewards’ Cup over a mile last time. He will be better suited by the 2000m this time around as he faces Voyage Bubble again. The last leg of the Triple Crown is in May, the G1 Champions & Chater Cup over 2400m. Romantic Warrior won this race in 2024. ∎

David Morgan

Umamusume “Soon” Says Susumu Fujita As Forever Young’s Legend Grows

David Morgan, Frank Chang

Kawasaki Win Puts Godolphin Japan’s Pyromancer On The Kentucky Derby Road