The only thing Straight No Chaser needed to win the Riyadh Dirt Sprint was show up and turn in his standard race, which he did, winning the $2 million contest by 3 3/4 lengths as an odds-on favorite. Straight No Chaser broke sharply and went to the front under John Velazquez before the Japanese speedster Jasper Krone ranged up and took the lead in the first furlong. Velazquez said his first reaction was to take back a bit and come around Jasper Krone, but when Straight No Chaser started to fight restraint, Velazquez let his mount go forward along the rail – a good plan with a superior horse. Straight No Chaser was back in front before hitting the turn and never faced a challenge, beating runner-up Muqtahem by nearly four lengths. "I’m just really proud of the horse and I’m glad he gets to prove himself on the global stage,” said Dan Blacker, who trains Straight No Chaser for MyRacehorse. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Muqtahem finished a half-length in front of third-place Gabby’s Sister with last year’s winner, Remake, seventh. Straight No Chaser paid $3.90. Straight No Chaser, by Speightster out of Margarita Friday, by Johannesburg, struggled to stay sound earlier in his career but has now put together three races, all wins, without interruption. He won the Santa Anita Sprint Championship by nearly seven lengths on Sept. 30 before capturing the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, a victory that made him champion sprinter of 2024. Japan sweeps top turf races Japan-based horses swept the three major turf races on the Saudi Cup undercard, with the filly Ascoli Piceno up by a head in the $2 million 1351 Turf Sprint, Shin Emperor a decisive front-running winner of the $2 million Neom Turf Cup, and Byzantine Dream home by 1 1/4 lengths in the $2.5 million Red Sea Turf. Christophe Lemaire gave Ascoli Piceno a perfect pocket trip in the 1351 Turf Sprint, but Ascoli Piceno is more naturally a miler than a sprinter, took a half-furlong to find her best stride after turning for home, and needed the entire homestretch to wear down pacesetting Win Marvel for a Japan-based one-two finish. Goemon finished one length farther back in third with the American horse Howard Wolowitz checking in 10th. Champion 2-year-old filly in Japan two years ago, Ascoli Piceno ($5.20 as the favorite) rebounded from a 12th-place finish in Australia this past November, her first start outside Japan. Trained by Yoichi Kuroiwa, Ascoli Piceno is by Daiwa Major out of the Danehill Dancer mare Ascolti. Shin Emperor ($3.7 as a heavy favorite) made all the running under Ryusei Sakai in the 1 5/16-mile Neom Turf Cup and was ridden out to a 1 3/4-length victory over Calif, with Al Riffa another half-length back in third. Twelfth in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe over a course far softer than he prefers, Shin Emperor swung back into action in December and missed winning the Japan Cup by a mere neck, form that made him a Saturday night standout. The 4-year-old Yoshito Yahagi-trained colt is by Siyouni out of Starlet’s Sister, by Galileo. Byzantine Dream benefitted from a good ride and good fortune winning the 1 7/8-mile Red Sea Turf by 1 1/4 lengths over a tough-luck Epic Poet. Racing from the rear of an 11-runner field during the races early and middle stages. Byzantine Dream made steady progress to reach contention before jockey Oisin Murphy launched an attack with a little more than a quarter mile to race. With Epic Poet stuck behind idling rivals, Byzantine Dream opened a lead of several lengths, and by the time Epic Poet had made two splits and gotten into the clear, it was too late to run down the winner. Favored Continuous was a well-beaten third. Another 4-year-old, Byzantine Dream ($31.80) is trained by Tomoyasu Sakaguchi, and is a son of Epiphaneia and the Full Pocket mare Japoni Chara. * American-bred, Dubai-based Golden Vekoma wore down pacesetting Shin Forever to win the $1.5 million Saudi Derby by 1 3/4 lengths. The race’s lone American runner, favored Cyclone State, never came close to reaching contention and finished last of nine. Golden Vekoma ($11.70) was ridden by Connor Beasley for trainer Ahmad bin Harmash and is a son of Vekoma and Sticks Wondergirl, by Stevie Wonderboy. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.