U.S. runners top contenders in Saudi Cup undercard stakes
Elite Power won the Breeders’ Cup Sprint in his last start and might not even be the best American horse in the $1.5 million Riyadh Dirt Sprint on Saturday at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Saudi Arabia.
Gunite didn’t quite stay a two-turn mile while finishing a creditable fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, and that’s the colt’s only loss in his last four starts. A Grade 1 winner at age 2, Gunite improved throughout his 3-year-old season and is a better horse now than when top-class Jack Christopher beat him in the Grade 1 Allen Jerkens last summer at Saratoga.
Three Americans – the big two and longshot Meraas – are among nine entered in the Riyadh Dirt Sprint, contested over 1,200 meters, or about six furlongs.
He faced no American horses, but Dancing Prince won this race a year ago by 5 3/4 lengths, part of a tsunami of Japanese winners on the 2022 Saudi Cup undercard. The 7-year-old returns for a repeat bid and might not be the leading contender among four Japanese shippers.
Like Gunite, 4-year-old Remake’s form shows a horse perhaps slightly better suited to seven furlongs than six, but Remake couldn’t have been more impressive winning his lead-in to Saturday’s start, the Capella Stakes over seven furlongs on Dec. 11 at Nakayama. This is the same race Dancing Prince won by a half-length before his Saudi victory last year, and Remake beat a good field by four lengths.
Settling 11th down the backstretch, far behind the pacesetters, Remake began his run going into the turn, came widest for the homestretch, and mowed down nine rivals still in front of him at the furlong pole to win going away. If Remake can repeat the performance, he’ll be formidable.
Gunite won sharply in a more recent prep, the King Cotton Stakes on Jan. 28 at Oaklawn Park. Racing over sloppy going, Gunite pressed the pace and despite failing to change leads, not the norm for the colt, turned in an 11.80-second final furlong and won with ease.
Elite Power, a Juddmonte Farms homebred trained by Bill Mott, lost his first three starts before winning five in a row, the last of them a soft renewal of the BC Sprint. The field he beat last fall in the Grade 2 Vosburgh also was substandard, and Elite Power here faces the strongest group he’s met.
1351 Turf Sprint
Casa Creed has unfinished business in the $1.5 million 1351 Turf Sprint.
The fabulously versatile American horse finished second by a neck in the 2022 1351 Turf Sprint, named for the one-turn race’s distance. The horse who beat him, Japanese star mare Songline, also is part of an 11-horse field, but Casa Creed can turn the tables.
In last year’s race, Songline and Casa Creed raced side by side into the bend, but when Songline surged forward at the 600-meter mark to establish position, Casa Creed was caught somewhat flat-footed. Following along in the mare’s wake, Casa Creed and jockey Luis Saez got back into the game by the head of the homestretch, coming with a sustained outside run that fell a neck short. Those 100 meters around the turn probably made the difference, and you can expect Casa Creed comes to this start in strong form. Trained by Bill Mott, Casa Creed raced twice last fall at Keeneland, a turf course he dislikes. His two previous starts produced a win the Grade 1 Jaipur over six furlongs and the Grade 1 Fourstardave at one mile, where he beat champion mare Regal Glory.
Back in Japan, Songline in June beat top-class Schnell Meister and Salios going a mile in the Group 1 Yasuda Kinen. Given time off, the mare cut back to six furlongs Sept. 11 in the Centaur Stakes, her most recent start, and simply was outpaced to the wire finishing a well-beaten fifth. She lacks push-button acceleration and her chances depend on getting a clean trip like in last year’s 1351 Turf Sprint.
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In the 2022 renewal, England-based Happy Romance turned in a career best finishing third, a neck behind Casa Creed, and he probably has a better chance than his uninspiring form over the summer in England suggests. Richard Hannon trains Happy Romance and has a second chance, 4-year-old Lusail, with Group 1 credentials.
Saudi Derby
Havnameltdown tries to stretch his speed over 1,600 meters, about one mile, in the $1.5 million Saudi Derby, and is likely to do so successfully.
Frankie Dettori rides Havnameltdown for trainer Bob Baffert, who won this one-turn race in 2022 with Pinehurst. Havnameltdown, drawn decently in post 6, is a better horse than Pinehurst. His lone defeat in six starts is a second-place finish to the Baffert-trained Cave Rock, one of the top two juveniles of 2022, in the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity. Havnameltdown showed he’s transitioned well enough from age 2 to 3 with a solid win Jan. 29 in the seven-furlong San Vicente.
His main challengers come from Japan. Derma Sotogake and Continuar are the shortest prices in overseas antepost betting, but From Dusk has faced the strongest competition and as a son of Bolt d’Oro stands a decent chance of transitioning from turf to dirt.
◗ The $1.5 million Neom Turf Cup over about 11 furlongs and the $1.5 million Red Sea Turf, a 2 1/2-mile staying race, round out the stakes action on the seven-race card.
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