Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's Forte (Violence) completed his preparation for his 2023 debut in next Saturday's GII Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream Park after breezing five furlongs in 1:01.99 Saturday morning at Palm Beach Downs.
“Last week was the work we wanted to make sure that we were on target,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “We got a good strong work into him. We got a good work today, but after last week, we weren't looking for him to do too much. We're right on schedule and think we are where we want to be.”
The 2022 2-year-old champion is the 7-5 morning-line favorite for the 1 1/16-mile stakes for sophomores, which will headline a program with nine stakes, including eight graded stakes, worth $1.85 Million in purses.
“He seems to be thriving right now,” Pletcher continued before Forte drew the No. 4 post position Saturday afternoon. “I hope he can continue on that trajectory. We're super pleased with the way he's coming into the race.”
“With that type of seasoning, I'm very comfortable with two races leading up, hopefully, to the Derby,” Pletcher said. “We've approached it from various angles and felt like this was the right path for him. So far everything has been going to plan. Hopefully, it continues to do that.”
6th-Oaklawn, $90,000, Msw, 2-25, 3yo, f, 6f, 1:11.43, sy, 2 1/2 lengths. GROVE (f, 3, Munnings–Wishful Winking, by Rip Van Winkle {Ire}), off at odds of 9-1, took pressure inside and out for the opening half-mile of her debut run, but went through her gears in the stretch nevertheless to report home a good-looking winner. A $100,000 Fasig-Tipton July yearling turned $175,000 OBS April breezer, Grove did her pre-race work down at the Fair Grounds and stepped away smartly while joined to her inside by the rail-skimming Mary's Boon (Central Banker) and in the three path by favored Malibu Toast (Malibu Moon). Narrowly in front from between those rivals as they hit the head of the stretch, Grove put some daylight between her and the rest of the field and ran out a comfortable winner. From the extended female family of GSW and GI Kentucky Derby runner-up Firing Line (Line of David) and Grade I winners Sharp Azteca (Freud) and Bowies Hero (Artie Schiller), Grove has a 2-year-old half-sister by Competitive Edge and a yearling half-brother by Omaha Beach. Wishful Thinking was most recently covered by Tiz the Law. The winning conditioner's father Mark Casse trained two-time Eclipse Award winner Tepin (Bernstein) for this owner. Sales history: $100,000 Ylg '21 FTKJUL; $175,000 2yo '22 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $54,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
O-Robert E Masterson; B-Slugo Racing LLC (KY); T-Norm W Casse.
Going into Saturday's Saudi Cup meeting at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh, there was approximately one way that this year's results could better the massive success achieved by Japan in 2022. And who better to orchestrate it but trainer Yoshito Yahagi, who has won major races everywhere with the possible exception of Mars, as Hiroo Race Co. Ltd's Panthalassa (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}), one of six top-shelf gallopers signed on from the Land of the Rising Sun and making just the second start of an already successful career on the dirt, led from flagfall to finish for a maiden Japanese victory in the world's richest horse race.
Following Wednesday's post position draw, Yahagi declared himself pleased enough with having been assigned the one hole, saying simply, 'gotta go.' And jockey Yutaka Yoshida followed the script to a 'T', kicking the entire straight into the lead, as G1 Satsuki Sho hero Geoglyph (Jpn) (Drefong), an unknown commodity on the dirt, raced closest in attendance to the pace, while 'TDN Rising Star'Taiba (Gun Runner) was pulled out wide to stalk that pair. Traveling like a seasoned main-track horse while racing a few paths off the rail into the turn, Panthalassa skipped along comfortably and hit the quarter pole with a clear advantage over Geoglyph. By this stage, Taiba had hoisted the white flag, and at one point with about a quarter mile to the finish, the top four spots were occupied by the Japanese. Geoglyph boxed on very gamely and dual G1 February S. hero Cafe Pharoah (American Pharoah) loomed a brief threat between rivals after being steered down the inside 800 metres out by Joao Moreira, but Panthalassa kept finding and was home narrowly best.
Country Grammer (Tonalist) was trapped out about five wide for much of the journey, and he looked to be struggling beneath Frankie Dettori as the field hit the final three furlongs. But in a manner similar to last year's G1 Dubai World Cup, he found his second wind and rattled home down the centre of the track to set him up beautifully for a return trip to Meydan next month. He was also second to Emblem Road (Quality Road) in last year's race.
“At the top of the straight, I thought, 'Oh god, I'm going to finish sixth' but he just has too much heart,” Dettori said. “He wants a mile and a quarter [2000m]. Super result.”
Cafe Pharoah edged Geoglyph for third, completing a 6-year-old trifecta, while Crown Pride (Jpn) (Reach the Crown {Jpn}) made for a 1-3-4-5 finish for Japan. These winning connections also celebrated the 1351 Turf Sprint with Bathrat Leon (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}).
“Mr Yahagi said to me to ride my race and I would get a good result,” commented the 47-year-old Yoshida, who was in the saddle for Panthalassa's dead-heat victory in last year's G1 Dubai Turf. “So, I didn't think about the surface. I just rode my race and thought if he adapts to the track, it would be all right. Of course, they were coming for me in the straight, but Panthalassa always found another gear and so I kept riding. It is an unforgettable moment and I am very happy to have ridden the winner.”
Yahagi added: “I really can't believe it. I don't know if it is real at the moment. I think I was correct that my feeling was right that he could handle the dirt. You know this is not easy. Japanese racing tries everything to improve and develop. Japanese horse racing has become more international. Of course, this is the best feeling as the prize-money is the best!”
Yahagi's international conquests are now well-documented, but bear repeating. Having sent out Deep Brillante (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) to win the 2012 G1 Tokyo Yushun at home, Yahagi saddled Real Steel (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) to victory in the 2016 Dubai Turf. In 2019, Lys Gracieux (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) gave the stable a memorable success in the G1 Cox Plate in Melbourne, while in 2021, Real Steel's full-sister Loves Only You (Jpn) won a pair of Group 1s in Hong Kong and was one of two landmark winners for Yahagi and Japan at that year's Breeders' Cup meeting at Del Mar. At last year's Saudi Cup meeting, he added the G3 Longines Red Sea H. with Stay Foolish (Jpn) (Stay Gold {Jpn}), who would go on to take the G2 Dubai Gold Cup four weeks later in Dubai, one of three winners on the evening for Yahagi.
Victorious in the G2 Nakayama Kinen last February as a springboard to the Dubai Turf, Panthalassa found Titleholder (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) and–likely–the 11 furlongs of the G1 Takarazuka Kinen a task too tall, finishing 11th in that June 26 test. Outgamed by the flashy Jack d'Or (Jpn) (Maurice {Jpn}) in August's G2 Sapporo Kinen over 2000 metres, the bay opened a lead of as many as 15 lengths in the G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) at Toyko Oct. 30 and fought on bravely into deep stretch before being reeled in by eventual Horse of the Year Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}). A well-bet 24-5 in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup in December, he failed to produce anything close to his best and finished well down the field.
Pedigree Notes:
Panthalassa's Saudi Cup is yet another feather in the cap of the outstanding Lord Kanaloa, who has sired Group 1 winners over sprint trips (Danon Smash {Jpn}, Tagaloa {Aus}), going a mile (Stelvio {Jpn}, Danon Scorpion {Jpn}) and Classic winners (Horse of the Year and Filly Triple Crown heroine Almond Eye {Jpn} and Saturnalia {Jpn}) from just six crops of racing age. Panthalassa is the stallion's first Group 1 winner on dirt.
Panthalassa is one of five winners from eight to the races for his dam, a 50,000gns purchase by the BBA Ireland at Tattersalls October in 2003 who was twice third from seven trips to the races in Japan as a 3-year-old before being retired. Miss Pemberley, whose female family includes the likes of Croco Rouge (Ire) and Alidiva (Ire), has a 2-year-old colt by Kizuna (Jpn) and her last listed produce is a yearling colt by Rey de Oro (Jpn), a Tokyo Yushun-winning son of Lord Kanaloa's late sire King Kamehameha (Jpn).
Saturday, King Abdulaziz (Riyadh), Saudi Arabia SAUDI CUP-G1, $20,000,000, King Abdulaziz, 2-25, 4yo/up, 1800m, 1:50.80, ft.
1–PANTHALASSA (JPN), 126, h, 6, by Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) 1st Dam: Miss Pemberley (Ire), by Montjeu (Ire) 2nd Dam: Stitching (Ire), by High Estate (Ire) 3rd Dam: Itching (Ire), by Thatching (Ire)
O-Hiroo Race Co Ltd; B-PANGLOSS Y K, Toshihiro Hirosaki et al; T-Yoshito Yahagi; J-Yutaka Yoshida; $10,000,000. Lifetime Record: G1SW-UAE, MGSW & G1SP-Jpn, 25-7-6-0, $14,418,903. *1/2 to Etendard (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), GSP-Jpn, $770,677; and Dimension (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), MGSP-Jpn, $1,030,766. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.Click for the free Equineline.com catalog-style pedigree.
2–Country Grammer, 126, h, 6, Tonalist–Arabian Song, by Forestry. ($60,000 Ylg '18 KEESEP; $450,000 2yo '19 OBSAPR; $110,000 HRA '21 KEEJAN). O-Zedan Racing Stables, WinStar Farm & Commonwealth Thoroughbreds; B-Scott & Debbie Pierce (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Frankie Dettori; $3,500,000.
3–Cafe Pharoah, 126, h, 6, American Pharoah–Mary's Follies, by More Than Ready. ($475,000 2yo '19 OBSMAR). O-Koichi Nishikawa; B-Paul P Pompa (KY); T-Noriyuki Hori; J-Joao Moreira; $2,000,000.
Margins: 3/4, HF, HD. Odds: 15-1, 7-2, 14-1.
Also Ran: Geoglyph (Jpn), Crown Pride (Jpn), Emblem Road, Jun Light Bolt (Jpn), Taiba, Remorse (Ire), Lagertha Rhyme (Ire), Vin de Garde (Jpn), Sunset Flash (Ire), Scotland Yard.
Named the 2022 Eclipse Champion Male Sprinter, Juddmonte's Elite Power (Curlin) picked up right where he left off with an easy 3 1/4-length score in the G3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint Presented By Sports Boulevard. The favorite held fellow American-bred challenger and GI Hopeful S. hero Gunite (Gun Runner) in second in the $1.5-million 1200-meter race.
In between horses as Meraas (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) showed the way, the $900,0000 Keeneland September yearling raced in the last third of the field away from the kickback in the center of the track. Piloted by veteran jockey extraordinaire Frankie Dettori, who rode Juddmonte's star mare Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) and is riding his final season, the 5-year-old had about five lengths to make up at the 500-metre mark. The Italian said go a few strides later, and Elite Power unleashed a strong turn of foot to motor right by his rivals before the final furlong and win as he pleased. Gunite also made steady late progress to take second, another two lengths to the good of Remake (Jpn) (Lani). The victory marked the first time a Breeders' Cup winner had landed a Saudi Cup day event, and it was the first time an American-based horse had made the winner's circle in the Dirt Sprint.
Dettori, who had also finished second in the G3 Saudi Derby Presented By Boutique Group aboard Havnameltdown (Uncaptured), and filled the same spot later in the evening with Country Grammer (Tonalist) in the G1 Saudi Cup, said, “My first word has to be aeroplane. I was a little out of reach and asked him to get a little closer and then the turbo just kicked in and I was a passenger then. He's a very laid-back horse and only does what you ask him to do but wow he has some turn of foot.
“The Abdullah family has given so much to the sport; the legacy keeps going. I love these colors and it's nice to give the locals something to cheer about.”
Neil Poznansky, assistant to trainer Bill Mott, said, “He's a big strong animal. He shows nothing but class. He shipped over here like he was here his whole life. He's a good horse, a very good horse. His turn of foot is incredible, he's just incredible to watch, a magnificent animal.
“He's really coming into himself and getting better as he was really slow to mature. Now he's putting it all together. Bill doesn't come here without reason but bringing a horse like Elite Power is a good reason to come. For Frankie and Juddmonte it was like a whole dynasty thing.”
Comparatively lightly raced, Elite Power's victory was his sixth in a row. After an allowance optional claiming win at Saratoga in September, he ran out a 5 3/4-length winner of the GII Vosburgh S. at Belmont Park a month later, and secured his first top-level tally in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint at Keeneland Nov. 5.
Pedigree Notes:
One of the best dirt sires standing in America, dual Horse of the Year Curlin also thrived in desert conditions, taking the 2008 G1 Dubai World Cup. The Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa stallion has 93 stakes winners (51 graded) to his credit. Of Curlin's 20 Grade I-winning offspring, 11 trace tail male to Seattle Slew, and Elite Power is out of a Vindication mare, just like three-time Grade I winner and GI Preakness S. winner Exaggerator.
Broadway's Alibi won the GII Forward Gal S. and GIII Comely S. and was second in the GI Kentucky Oaks in 2012. Put in foal to Curlin's sire Smart Strike, the dark bay made $2.15 million from Alpha Delta Stables when offered as part of the E. Paul Robsham Stables dispersal during the 2013 Keeneland November Sale. The lone runner out of his dam, Elite Power has a 2-year-old full-brother, and Broadway's Alibi is carrying to City of Light.
GI Florida Derby hero Dialed In (Mineshaft) is a half-brother to the winner's granddam, Astoria S. heroine Broadway Gold (Seeking the Gold). Elite Power's fourth dam is American Champion Juvenile Filly Eliza (Mt. Livermore), who collected both the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and GI Santa Anita Oaks, and was second in the GI Kentucky Oaks.
Saturday, King Abdulaziz (Riyadh), Saudi Arabia RIYADH DIRT SPRINT PRESENTED BY SPORTS BOULEVARD-G3, $1,500,000, King Abdulaziz, 2-25, 3yo/up, 1200m, 1:11.01, gd.
1–ELITE POWER, 126, h, 5, by Curlin 1st Dam: Broadway's Alibi (MGSW & GISP-US, $521,500), by Vindication 2nd Dam: Broadway Gold, by Seeking The Gold 3rd Dam: Miss Doolittle, by Storm Cat
($900,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-Juddmonte; B-Alpha Delta Stables (KY); T-William I. Mott; J-Lanfranco Dettori; $900,000. Lifetime Record: Ch. Male Sprinter-US, GISW-US, 9-6-0-1, $2,305,711. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalog-style pedigree.
2–Gunite, 126, c, 4, Gun Runner–Simple Surprise, by Cowboy Cal. O/B-Winchell Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-Steven Asmussen; J-Tyler Gaffalione; $300,000.
3–Remake (Jpn), 126, c, 4, Lani–Sariel (Jpn), by King Kamehameha (Jpn). O-Koji Maeda; B-North Hills Co., Ltd. (Jpn); T-Koichi Shintani; J-Yuichi Fukunaga; $150,000.
Margins: 3 1/4, 2, 1. Odds: 1.00, 3.50, 4.50.
Also Ran: Justin (Jpn), Dancing Prince (Jpn), Ryuno Yukina (Jpn), Freedom Fighter, Pagan (Ire), Meraas (GB). VIDEO.
– a retirement win in Riyadh.
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