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Emblem Road Makes Successful Return in Riyadh

Prince Saud bin Salman Abdulaziz's Emblem Road (Quality Road), who caused one of the biggest upsets of the 2022 racing season anywhere in the world when defeating an international field in the $20-million G1 Saudi Cup, took a major step towards a defense of that title with a convincing four-length success in a $25,289 allowance going the one-turn 1600 meters at King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh Friday.

Drawn gate four and asked to carry 62kg (136 pounds), the mount of Alexis Moreno was clearly last into stride and was guided into the clear inside the opening quarter-mile, then proceeded to improve his position into midfield passing the halfway point. Some six or seven wide into the bend, the 5-year-old caught the eye approaching the 600-meter marker as he began to wind up with a menacing run nearing the straight. Racing on his left lead, Emblem Road struck to the lead with about a furlong to travel and was pushed out under mild hands-and-heels encouragement to score by four lengths (see below).

A perennial leading local jockey, Moreno guided Emblem Road to three consecutive scores in 2021 and 2022, including the $213,000 Prince Faisal Cup, a local Saudi Cup prep, this time last year. When Moreno elected to retain the mount on King's Cup hero Making Miracles (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) for the Saudi Cup, that opened the door for Wigberto Ramos to take over aboard Emblem Road and the duo came storming down the center of the track to best Country Grammer (Tonalist) by a half-length, with Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) third. Making Miracles was fourth.

Emblem Road, $230,000 Keeneland September yearling and $80,000 OBS June breezer, was winning for the eighth time from 11 starts overall. He was last seen in France last July when he finished fifth of sixth as the somewhat surprising favorite in the G3 Grand Prix de Vichy, his only start on the turf to date.

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Subjectivist Eyes Return On Saudi Cup Undercard

Not seen since Royal Ascot success two years ago, Group 1 winner Subjectivist (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) could return on the Saudi Cup undercard in Riyadh next month, according to trainer Charlie Johnston.

“Entries closed yesterday morning for the Saudi Cup meeting and Subjectivist has been entered in the [G3] Red Sea Turf H.–[the] 1 mile and 7-furlong race,” Johnston said.

Winner of the 2021 G1 Gold Cup June 17, the now-6-year-old was previously victorious in the 2020 G1 Prix Royal-Oak at ParisLongchamp on Oct. 25 and the 2021 G2 Dubai Gold Cup at Meydan in March of 2021. During his win at the Royal Meeting, he sustained a potentially career-threatening leg injury. While there were initially hopes he would return to defend his Gold Cup crown, it did not happen by the summer.

Subjectivist is now back in full work mode, and while Johnston is taking a day-to-day approach, he is pleased with what he has seen so far.

Reporting on Subjectivist's progress, “He's been back in work since early October and has been cantering all the way through December and into January now. There's still a long way to go–we haven't started to turn the screw just yet with any faster work.

“Every day the fingers are crossed watching him, but so far so good.”

Just this week, Johnston took over the training licence fully from his record-breaking father Mark. He has already celebrated a pair of winners.

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Burke Pair Aiming For Saudi

Karl Burke plans to have two runners at the valuable Saudi Cup meeting at the end of February. The Yorkshire trainer will aim to send his Chesham S. winner and Group 1-placed Holloway Boy (GB) (Ulysses {Ire}) as well as G2 Prix Chaudenay winner Al Qareem (Ire) (Awtaad {Ire}).

Longer-term plans for Holloway Boy centre on the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket in May, which will be his next target after the $1.5million Saudi Derby

Burke said, “It was always in my mind to give him a prep run before the 2,000 Guineas. If we go out to the Saudi Derby, it still gives us the guts of two months into the Guineas.

“Timewise, it's ideal and the prize-money is huge. As long as he's fit and well at the end of January, I would imagine that's where we'll go.”

He added, “He's a horse with a lot of ability. He showed that again in the Vertem Futurity at Doncaster when he probably should have been second. The winner, Auguste Rodin, is obviously a very useful horse.”

On his charge's potential first start on dirt, the trainer said, “The jockeys reported the dirt track was very horse-friendly compared to some others. The kickback wasn't as severe, so it helped put it in our minds to give Holloway Boy a chance around there. I wouldn't be keen to run him on 'normal' dirt but, from what I saw myself and listening to the jockeys, it's a very kind surface in Saudi.”

Nick Bradley Racing's Al Qareem is being aimed at the G3 Red Sea Turf Handicap.

“He's come back in and he's cantering away steady at the moment,” Burke said. “We'll pick his work up now to Christmas and he'll work through January. That's the plan in our heads at the moment, but there is a lot of training to go into him over the next six weeks. When we get to the end of January, we'll make a firm decision. I'm very pleased with him at the moment.

“We'd hope he could develop into a Cup horse next season. He's shown a good level of form and he's only a three-year-old. He's only a baby really.”

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Saudis Still Mulling Whether to DQ Maximum Security From 2020 Saudi Cup

Despite trainer Jason Servis having pled guilty in court last week to charges that he regularly doped horses under his care, officials from the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA) issued a statement Monday in which they said they have yet to decide whether or not they will disqualify Maximum Security (New Year's Day) from his victory in the 2020 $20 million Saudi Cup. Just nine days after the race, Servis was indicted on a number of charges related to his use of performance-enhancing drugs, which led to the JCSA announcing that it would not pay out the $10 million due to the winner until investigating the situation.

Monday's statement read: “The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia continues to monitor developments in the USA with the ultimate aim of concluding an investigation related to the running of the 2020 Saudi Cup. Over the coming weeks we will assess our ability to conclude the investigation, which began in March 2020, in a robust and comprehensive fashion.”

Maximum Security passed all drug tests given to him both before and after the Saudi Cup, but racing officials from JCSA maintained that it was within their power to strip him of the win if it was proven that Servis had been illegally drugging Maximum Security in the months surrounding the race.

“If the results come out where they have concrete evidence that Maximum Security received performance-enhancing drugs of any kind within the previous six months of the Saudi Cup then by our rules that would result in automatic disqualification of a horse.” Prince Bandar bin Khalid al Faisal, the chairman of the JCSA, told podcaster Nick Luck in 2020.. “We are consistent in implementing our own rules and regulations.”

Government prosecutors alleged that they intercepted phone calls made by Servis that he gave the illegal drug SGF-1000 to “almost everything” in his barn. Considering the evidence that Servis was using PEDs with Maximum Security it is unclear why the JCSA did not strip the horse of his win immediately after Servis entered a guilty plea or what other factors it still wants to look into before wrapping up its investigation and deciding the outcome of the race.

Maximum Security was owned by the partnership of Gary and Mary West and Coolmore. When contacted by Horseracingnation.com, Gary West said he would abide by what decision ultimately came out of Saudi Arabia.

“We believe in the justice system and have patiently waited for the legal prosecution to take its course,” West told the website. “Now that Jason Servis has entered a guilty plea, we want to make it clear that if the Saudi Cup purse is redistributed we would support that decision. Hopefully, that action will prevent future conduct of this nature. We believe the decision to take the Saudi Cup purse from Maximum Security and redistribute it is the correct one.”

Should Maximum Security be disqualified the win would go to Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute). She earned $3.5 million for running second, which means that her owners would receive an additional $6.5 million thanks to the disqualification.

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