After two narrow losses, Saudi Crown breaks through in Pennsylvania Derby
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BENSALEM, Pa. - Saudi Crown came into the stretch of Saturday’s Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby at sloppy Parx with a clear lead, just as he had in the Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga eight weeks ago.
As was the case in the Jim Dandy, a horse ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. owned by Mike Repole, and trained by Todd Pletcher was trying to mow him down late. This time, that horse was the modestly accomplished Dreamlike, not the champion Forte. This time, Saudi Crown was not to be caught, holding on to win by a half-length.
In the Jim Dandy, Forte beat Saudi Crown a nose. Before that, in the Grade 3 Dwyer at Belmont Park, Fort Bragg beat Saudi Crown a nose.
Brad Cox, the trainer of Saudi Crown, said in the stretch of the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby he was a little worried something similar was going to happen.
“Right before he straightened up, I saw his ears going back and forth and I thought ‘this horse is looking around a little bit,’ he kind of got a little lost,” Cox said. “Florent came back and said he was kind of looking around a little bit. But I thought [Dreamlike] coming up to him, kind of pushed him along; he had to reengage a bit and he was able to hold him off.”
Cox called the win “a breakthrough performance” for Saudi Crown, a horse that he always had high hopes for, but who was late getting started owing to a setback at age 2.
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“He needed a breakthrough performance, I think he’s very talented, I definitely think he’s one of the top 3-year-olds in the country,” Cox said.
Saudi Crown’s strength has been his speed and on a rainy, windswept day when being forwardly placed was a key to success, Saudi Crown “broke like a shot” Geroux said and he was able to easily establish a clear advantage.
Saudi Crown ran a quarter in 23.16 seconds, a half-mile in 47.27 and six furlongs in 1:12.17 while being pursued by Scotland, Magic Tap, West Coast Cowboy, and Reincarnate.
Dreamlike was ninth early on, but advancing along the inside down the backstretch. Coming to the top of the lane, the early pursuers were starting to fade, but Dreamlike, tipped five wide by Ortiz for the stretch, was gaining momentum. But in the end, he ran out of ground.
“For a second, I thought if that horse just comes back a little, I can get there because when I hit my horse he was responding,” Ortiz said.
Saudi Crown, a son of 2017 Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming, covered the 1 1/8 miles in the slop in 1:50.62 and returned $4.20 as the even-money favorite. He was given a 105 Beyer Speed Figure.
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Dreamlike finished second, six lengths clear of Il Miracolo, who was a neck in front of Magic Tap. There was an objection lodged by jockey Tyler Gaffalione on Magic Tap against Mychel Sanchez on Il Miracolo for a bumping incident late. That objection was quickly disallowed.
Crupi finished fifth, followed by Reincarnate, Gilmore, Daydreaming Boy, West Coast Cowboy, Scotland, and Modern Era.
Saudi Crown is owned by FMQ Stables, a Saudi Arabia-based ownership group that is in its first year of existence. Many of the partners were in attendance Saturday, coming here following the Keeneland yearling sales in Kentucky.
“Just amazing what we saw today,” Faisal M. Alqahtani, managing partner of FMQ said. “We had a huge storm and it affects everybody but he showed all his class today. You will see that horse in the bigger races.”
Alqahtani wasn’t ready to commit to the Breeders’ Cup Classic just yet, that decision to be based on how well he comes out of the race.
“Everybody considers the Classic,” Alqahtani said. “But we have the horse’s welfare in mind.”
Alqahtani said the $20 million Saudi Cup in his country next February is definitely on Saudi Crown’s 2024 schedule.
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