Saudi Cup undercard: Japan, England, Ireland get stakes wins

A matchless finishing kick from Japan-based Remake continued a fine night for Japan on the Saudi Cup program in the Group 3, $1.5 million Riyadh Dirt Sprint.

Just as in the previous race, the Saudi Derby, an horse based in the U.S. was run down by one from the other side of the Pacific with Skelly succumbing to the winner’s telling burst with half-furlong to race.

Skelly had disputed the initial speed into the homestretch and established an outright lead with a furlong and a half left, just as jockey Yuga Kawada asked for the maximum and ultimately decisive acceleration from his mount.

The winning margin for Remake (7-2) was a length and a half over Skelly (5-2), with the same margin separating Skelly and the fast-finishing Bold Journey (4-1). The clock stopped at 1:10.42 for about six furlongs.

Remake is a 5-year-old Japan-bred son of Lani out of the King Kamehameha mare Sariel. This was a third win by a horse based in Japan in five editions of the Riyadh Dirt Sprint. Remake finished third in 2023 to Elite Power, who went on to win the Breeders' Cup Sprint and his second straight Eclipse for champion sprinter.

“If Remake showed his performance, I was pretty sure he was going to get there,” winning trainer Koichi Shintani said. “But as he got beaten last year it was so disappointing so we spoke with the staff and tried to better that performance. I think he is at an advantage that he can race from anywhere and that is his strength.”

“I expected a fast pace in the early stages,” Kawada said, “and it went as I expected so I was nice and calm and waited to the straight. It means a huge amount.”

Skelly came into the race off of a win in the King Cotton at Oaklawn for trainer Steve Asmussen, but was trying international company for the first time in the Riyadh Dirt Sprint. “Turning for home, I was feeling really confident,” Ricardo Santana said. “He gave me another kick, but that other horse was much the best. Skelly is a decent horse and he always tries hard.

“He gave me everything he had and he really tried hard. I’m really happy with him. To come all the way and travel from the U.S. is hard, but he ran his race.”

Annaf rides the rail to victory in 1351 Turf Sprint

Annaf brought another international triumph for his Great Britain-based trainer Mick Appleby with a stunning win in the Group 2 $2 million 1351 Turf Sprint.

Just a few months ago, the well-respected trainer had a breakthrough on the world stage with Big Evs in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Santa Anita.

Annaf (16-1), the 5-year-old son of Muhaarar, jumped evenly but jockey Rossa Ryan kept him to the back of the field and right on the rail.

They gradually made ground up on the inside and just found a way through to grab the trophy, winning by three-quarters of a length in a time of 1:17.88.

Japan-based mare La La Christine (18-1) ran well and finished in second on her swan song guided by Cristian Demuro.

Another son of Muhaarar, Byline (36-1), followed in third with Gerald Mosse in the saddle.

The defending champion from Japan, Bathrat Leon (12-1) was a disappointment, finishing in 10th as he missed the jump and met trouble in running early on. Mysterious Night (8-5), the pari-mutuel wagering favorite, weakened to finish 13th in the field of 14.

“With Annaf I have always tended to ride for luck,” Ryan said. “It seems to work for him. He lets hard-hitters do the work for him and picks up the pieces.

“The trip today was a huge concern but he got six furlongs on grass at Ascot on heavy ground, we went a right good gallop and I was where I wanted to be following Jumby and lucky the gaps came. The owner and trainer don’t put any pressure on me and I know he has pace to get me out of trouble. I didn’t have a lot of room but he stuck his head out for me.”

“Rossa gave him a great ride,” Appleby said. “All down to Rossa, not my training. He keeps improving and keeps surprising us. God knows where we go next. He has got an invite to Japan, so possibly we’ll go there next. We always thought he was good horse who’d get better with age and he might not be finished yet. The sky is the limit.”

Spirit Dancer rallies to upset Neom Turf Cup

Legendary former Manchester United soccer coach Sir Alex Ferguson hit the back of the net again when his homebred Spirit Dancer lifted the Group 2, $2 million Neom Turf Cup in front of a very appreciative crowd.

Jack Darcy and Luxembourg, both based in Great Britain, had ensured that there was plenty of pace in this 1 5/16-mile race, which allowed the Oisin Orr-partnered Spirit Dancer (13-1) to relax in mid-division.

As soon as they left the final bend, the jockey pulled him out and made his way up the straight.

With a furlong to go, Luxembourg had the advantage but the Richard Fahey-trained Spirit Dancer continued to accelerate and won the race comfortably by a length from Japanese raider Killer Ability (23-1). Calif (88-1) finished third, followed further back by Luxembourg (3-5).

Following a success in the Bahrain International Trophy (G2) in November, it took Spirit Dancer only 2:07.10 to bring the triumphant owners Sir Alex Ferguson, Ged Mason and Peter Done into another winner’s enclosure in the Middle East.

“We’ll send him back to Dubai,” Fahey said. “We’ll see how he is in the morning but it’s hard not to go back to Dubai. I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t line up in something on World Cup night.

“Always in my mind I wanted to stretch out to a mile and a half but I don’t want to make any decisions tonight. Any horse that goes on the international scene, becomes a people’s horse, and he’s got a huge fan base - the lad that has a share in him has something to do with that!

“As trainers we don’t really understand what it means to people and to see the enjoyment gives me huge pride. He gets his head down and gallops to the line.”

Moore gets Tower of London home in Red Sea Turf

Aidan O’Brien’s Tower of London rallied from the back of the pack to land the fifth edition of the $2.5 million Red Sea Turf Handicap (G3), needing every bit of the 1 7/8-mile distance to pip a game Enemy on the wire by a head.

Settling near the back through the early parts of the race, jockey Ryan Moore had to navigate a path into the clear on the son of Galileo after spinning off the final of three bends. Tower of London (3-1) found his best stride in the final furlong and hitting the finish line in a time of 3:04.43.

Richard Kingscote was aboard Enemy (10-1), who was second for the second consecutive year in the stamina-sapping affair. A thriller of a race, indeed, it was another three-quarters of a length back to top-weight Giavellotto (9-1) in third with Oisin Murphy in the saddle.

The victory was a first on the Saudi Cup card for iconic Irish conditioner O’Brien, who had prepared the colt for the Coolmore ownership syndicate of Derrick Smith, Mrs John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Westerberg.

“He’s a lightly raced horse,” Moore said. “He’s from a very good family, a brother to Capri and the family have done well for the yard. He’d been working well, they always held him in high regard. We had to be patient and a few horses were dropping back. We eventually got out and he got there at the end. Today was the first time he was able to run on a flat track on quick ground and Aidan has had a lot of faith.”