Straight No Chaser drills for Riyadh Dirt Sprint on Saudi Cup card

ARCADIA, Calif. – On Sunday at Santa Anita, Straight No Chaser, the champion male sprinter of 2024, worked five furlongs in a quick 59 seconds. On Tuesday, Straight No Chaser was scheduled to be flown to Saudi Arabia for the Group 2 Riyadh Dirt Sprint on Feb. 22.

The difference in Sunday’s work compared to recent workouts was the presence of a stablemate, trainer Dan Blacker said.

“I gave him some company and gave him something to focus on,” Blacker said. Straight No Chaser “finished very well.”

Blacker said Straight No Chaser galloped out six furlongs in 1:11.20 under jockey and exercise rider Abdul Alsagoor.

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The $2 million Riyadh Dirt Sprint at six furlongs will be Straight No Chaser’s first start since a win in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint on Nov. 2 at Del Mar. A 6-year-old, Straight No Chaser has a chance to extend a winning streak to three races later this month, having won the Grade 2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship on Sept. 29.

Straight No Chaser, owned by the My Racehorse syndicate, is the lone American runner expected for the Riyadh Dirt Sprint.

Other leading candidates are Remake and Jasper Krone, a pair of Japanese horses who were first and second in the Group 3 Korea Sprint in South Korea in September. Remake, who won the 2024 Saudi Dirt Sprint, was later last of 11 in the BC Sprint.

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