If not the Saudi Cup of 2025 must be near the top.
To see the two top horses in the world going head to head down the straight in an epic battle with the rest of the field somewhere in the distance under the starry desert sky has be one of the greatest experiences that those of us who were privileged to witness it will have and never forget.
The two horses were Hong Kong's Romantic Warrior, a winner of G1 races all over the world but all on turf and the 7yo gelding was going for his hardest test over 2000m on turf. The other horse was Japan's Forever Young, who won the Derby here last year and then the Derby in Dubai and went on to Kentucky where he was the victim of interference in the Kentucky Derby and as a result finished third. He's a 4yo officially and had his real 4th birthday two days after the race.
Much has been written already about the race and the possibility that coming into the straight (we refuse to call it the stretch) James MacDonald kicked for home too soon. However this was the horse's normal pattern of racing and it was only that he had a great horse stalking him that caused this to be called an error of judgement. Forever Young had drawn out in gate 14, the widest, where his jockey had the task of getting him into a comfortable position for the run and then into a spot from which he could attack heading for home.
Both horses broke well and were in the forward pack down the back and then when they came into the final turn Romantic Way surged ahead with Forever Young a couple of lengths further back but his jockey Sakai knows the horse very well and gradually moved him closer and as they were closing pulled Forever Young out off the rail and with his fifth gear engaged went forward and got the result by a neck. Having raced on turf most of his life Romantic Warrior was unable to get that extra kick off the dirt and that was that!
The beaten brigade were no slouches – third home Ushban Tesoro won the Dubai World Cup two years ago and many other runners had won similar high profile races, but the top two belong to a different planet and provided a galactic spectacle.
So it is now on to Dubai for at least the first two although they will be in different races. Romantic Warrior will switch back to the turf and Forever Young will try to achieve the double of Saudi Cup and Dubai World Cup in the same year.
