One big challenge remains for Romantic Warrior after the Hong Kong-based superstar romped to a track-record victory in the Jebel Hatta (G1T) Jan. 24 on a power-packed Fashion Friday card at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai.
It was the 10th top-level win for the 7-year-old Acclamation gelding, adding Dubai to group 1 triumphs in Hong Kong, Australia and Japan. Romantic Warrior came into the race as the world's top-earning horse and showed again he shrugs off travel and climate change.
What's left is a change in surface. Trainer Danny Shum now will ask Romantic Warrior to tackle a dirt track for the first time in the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1) in Riyadh Feb. 22 at King Abdulaziz Racecourse.
His first dance in the desert did nothing to discourage his connections. Facing a solid international field, Romantic Warrior and jockey James McDonald left no doubt of their superiority with a 4 1/2-length victory. The time of 1:45.10 for 1,800 meters (about 1 1/8 miles) on good turf established a new course record.
"He could be a sprinter," McDonald said. "That's how fast he is. I was a bit worried as he was a little bit fresh in the parade ring but he found his cool going down to the start. He's just a superstar."
"He is one of the best in the world," Shum said. "He's got a good turn of foot, he can kick, and he listens to what the jockey asks him to do."
Shum admitted the Saudi dirt remains an unknown factor.
"It's a question. When he runs on the turf, I'm confident he can win. But I don't know about the dirt. He's trialed well on it in Hong Kong but trials are trials."
Poker Face was best of the rest with Holloway Boy and Godolphin's Ottoman Fleet third and fourth.
The race, and indeed the night, were marred by the fatal injury suffered by the other Godolphin entry, Measured Time, last year's winner, who broke down just before the finish. The loss of the globetrotting star, a 5-year-old entire son of Frankel , was a serious blow to Godolphin and trainer Charlie Appleby.
The Jebel Hatta normally would be a trial for one of the rich turf races on Dubai World Cup (G1) night April 5 and Shum has that option in his back pocket should things not go well for Romantic Warrior on the Saudi dirt. If it does go well, the World Cup itself would be the target.
Al Maktoum Challenge
The normal prep for the World Cup, Fashion Friday's Al Maktoum Challenge (G1) went to Walk of Stars in another impressive performance. The 6-year-old Dubawi gelding, trained by Bhupat Seemar, rolled home first by 2 3/4 lengths from Imperial Emperor with Tadhg O'Shea in the irons.
Walk of Stars finished second in the Godolphin Mile (G2) on the dirt on World Cup night in 2024 and now has two wins and a second during this season's carnival.
"The owners (Athbah Stud) are from Saudi so I imagine they will want to go to the Saudi Cup," Seemar said.
Team Valor International and Gary Barber's 2024 Dubai Turf (G1T) winner Facteur Cheval finished seven lengths behind the winner in third in his dirt debut. Facteur Cheval's performance on the new surface impressed his connections and he will be pointed to the Saudi Cup for his next start, according to a post by Team Valor on X.
Last year's Al Maktoum winner Kabirkhan finished seventh. The son of California Chrome was making his first start since finishing eighth in the 2024 Dubai World Cup.
Firebreak Stakes
The Firebreak Stakes (G3) at 1,600 meters (about one mile) served as yet another proving ground for the big races down the road although Seemar's powerful forces took a hit in the race as last year's World Cup winner, Laurel River, was pipped on the line by outsider King Gold.
Laurel River, making his first start since that Dubai World Cup victory, set a hot pace in the 1,600-meter (about one mile) event and ran out of gas in the late going. The ever-positive Seemar said the race was meant all along as a starting point for the Saudi Cup and the World Cup and he sees no reason to change course.
"We'll go to the Saudi Cup. See you in Riydah," said Douglas Erskine Crum, chief executive of owner Juddmonte.
King Gold's performance on the dirt, his first on the surface, earned him a shot at the Godolphin Mile.
UAE Two Thousand Guineas
While the older stars were duking it out for chances at the big money in Saudi and Dubai, the 3-year-olds went at it in the UAE Two Thousand Guineas (G3)—the final local prep race for the UAE Derby (G2) on the April 5 World Cup program. That race, in turn, is effectively an automatic qualifier for the Kentucky Derby (G1), granting the winner 100 points on the European/Middle East Road to the Kentucky Derby.
Mark down the name Golden Vekoma. The Kentucky-bred son of Spendthrift Farm's hot young sire Vekoma notched his second straight Carnival win for trainer Ahmad bin Harmash, getting home 1 1/2 lengths in front of highly regarded Heart of Honor.
Bred by Woods Edge Farm, Golden Vekoma was purchased by Harmash Racing for $90,000 from the Grassroots Training and Sales consignment at the 2024 Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.
"We will go to the Saudi Derby next, because when you have a class horse, you have to try something different," the trainer said. The one-mile Saudi Derby (G3) was won last year by Forever Young, who followed it up with a win in the UAE Derby and a close third-place finish in the Kentucky Derby.
Ageless Tuz Takes Al Shindagha Sprint
Another Seemar charge, Tuz, the reigning Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1) winner, made it four wins in a row in the Al Shindagha Sprint (G3).
"He's a machine around here," said O'Shea. "He's playing games with the opposition at the moment. He's a jockey's dream, a push button, and just a phenomenal racehorse."
The 8-year-old Oxbow gelding was bred in Kentucky by Calumet Farm.
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