Despite all the action and high stakes on offer in two days of world-class racing at the 2025 Saudi Cup meeting, everything ultimately comes down to a single question.
Can Romantic Warrior perform as well on the dirt as he has on the turf?
If the answer is yes, the Hong Kong-based, 7-year-old gelding will be a good bet to add an 11th group 1 victory, in a fifth country, to his already staggering record and extend his career earnings record by the $10 million winner’s share of the Saudi Cup (G1) purse.
And even if the answer is no, the crowd assembled at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 22 will still be in for a treat as the race also features group 1 winners from other points of the compass.
Notable among them is Forever Young , who won the 2024 Saudi Derby (G3) in a remarkable stretch battle and went on to win the UAE Derby (G2) and finish third in both the Kentucky Derby (G1) and the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).
Also set to line up in the 1,800-meter (about 1 1/8 miles) Cup are the likes of 2023 G1 Dubai World Cup (G1) winner Ushba Tesoro , Wilson Tesoro, and Ramjet , all proven dirt runners from Japan; Facteur Cheval from France; and Rattle N Roll from the United States.
Ace Dubai trainer Bhupat Seemar brings Walk of Stars , fresh off a victory in the Al Maktoum Challenge (G1) at his home track. Elite South American runner El Kodigo represents his continent in the Cup field.
Trainer Kenny McPeek sent 2022 St. Louis Derby winner Rattle N Roll to Saudi Arabia early, passing up the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) at Gulfstream Park in favor a local qualifier for the Saudi Cup. The 6-year-old won that with ease.
“We wanted to bring him last year but the timing wasn’t right,” McPeek said Feb. 19 after drawing gate 7 in a field of 14. “This year, we gave him time and it worked out great. And he seems to like this track just fine.”
The rest of the gate fills with lesser-credentialed hopefuls but long odds have been overcome in this race.
Still, attention focuses on Romantic Warrior. He’s done everything asked of him by owner Peter Lau, trainer Danny Shum, and jockey James McDonald. He won the Cox Plate (G1) in Australia in 2023. He won the Yasuda Kinen (G1) in Japan in 2024, and added Dubai to his conquest list in January with a record-breaking performance in the Jebel Hatta (G1)—all while piling up seven group 1 victories at home, many of them against top-level international competition.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club reckons his earnings at a global record of approximately US$22.8 million or HK$179.7 million—not bad for a horse purchased out of the 2021 Hong Kong International Sale by Lau for HK$4.8 million.
But that’s all been on turf.
Owner, trainer, and jockey all say they believe Romantic Warrior can be just as good on the new surface. And Lau said, via the HKJC before leaving for Riyadh, that if he can, he can dominate the Cup.
“If he can suit the dirt, I think his class is no lower than any of the other horses,” Lau said. “My prediction is that it will not be too close. If we are not suited on the dirt then maybe he’ll finish fourth, fifth or in the middle. But if we are as good on the dirt as we are on the turf then I think we are very hard to beat.”
McDonald gave Romantic Warrior his final fast work Feb. 19 over the course and had nothing negative to say about the surface or his mount’s affinity for it.
“I haven’t ridden on too many dirt tracks,” said McDonald, recently crowned Longines World’s Best Jockey of 2024, “so I can’t really compare too many. But he seemed to handle it okay. It’s a real powdery sort of track and the kickback was there but it wasn’t coarse or anything.”
Team Romantic Warrior isn’t alone in its assessment. Even the competition singles him out as the one to beat, with a wary eye still on the rest of the talented field.
“Romantic Warrior should be the biggest danger, but he is not the only rival to us,” said Forever Young’s trainer, Yoshito Yahagi.
Yahagi, known at racing venues around the world as “the man in the hat” for his colorful headgear, should know. His international triumphs include twin victories in the Breeders’ Cup World Championships and four at the Saudi Cup meeting, including the 2023 Cup itself with Panthalassa .
Forever Young will have to beat Romantic Warrior from different parts of the starting gate. Romantic Warrior drew post 3 early in the elaborate draw process. A bit later, Forever Young was relegated to gate 14.
Neither trainer seemed too concerned about the draw given their horses’ different running styles and the long backstretch run to the sole turn.
The leading local hope in the Cup is Al Musmak , formerly trained by Roger Varian in England and now handled for new Saudi owners by leading trainer Thamer Aldaihani. He echoes the handicapping of his rivals.
“I’ve seen Romantic Warrior’s races. He’s number one in the world, a very good horse. If he’s good with the dirt, nobody can beat him,” Aldaihani said. “After two furlongs, you’ll know if Romantic Warrior can win or not. He must jump from the gate and carry on the pace, sit in a good position.”
But trainers are not paid to be pessimists and Aldaihani allowed the same might be said of Al Musmak.
“If he runs like in England and he acts on the dirt very well—like Romantic Warrior—the race will be between Romantic Warrior and Al Musmak, I’m sure,” Aldaihani said, adding only, “Forever Young is a very good horse, too.”
Leave feedback about this