Saudi Crown

The plane carrying the Japanese contingent to Riyadh for next Saturday's Saudi Cup meeting touched down at King Khalid International Airport, and each of the nation's four entrants for the $20-million G1 Saudi Cup appear to have taken the flight in good order. Looking to make it back-to-back successes in the world's richest horse race following the stunning all-the-way victory by Panthalassa (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) last February are Japan's champion dirt horse Lemon Pop (Lemon Drop Kid); reigning G1 Dubai World Cup winner Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}); Derma...

When the IEAH stable partnership closed down in 2013, it seemed like the sport had seen the last of its founder, Michael Iavarone. But after four years on the sidelines Iavarone returned as the solo owner of a small group of horses in 2017. Since, he has built his stable into a top outfit, as evidenced by the fact that he will have a starter in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational in O'Connor (Chi) (Boboman) and in the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational in Master Piece (Chi) (Mastercraftsman...

FMQ Stables' Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming) bossed his five overmatched rivals from the front to take out Saturday's GIII Louisiana S. at the Fair Grounds, a perfect lead-up into the $20-million G1 Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh in five weeks' time . Appearing for the first time since weakening to 10th behind the Saudi Cup-bound White Abarrio (Race Day) in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic 11 weeks back, the odds-on pop won the break from gate three and set the pace into the first turn as Tenacious...

Like one of those old split-flap mechanical signs at train stations, everyone knows that in the new year the 'Run for the Roses' leaderboard will fluctuate. Week-to-week, the top points begin to compound--from 20 to the winner Saturday and going as high as 100 to the winner come April. The trail to Derby 150 begins a much steeper ascent on Saturday at Fair Grounds in New Orleans as the GIII Lecomte S. offers 3-year-old colts 20-10-6-4-2 that can be applied to Bank of Churchill. This year's edition pits a field...

Godolphin's First Mission (Street Sense) continued preparations for the Jan. 27 GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational with a bullet five-furlong work in 1:00.00 (1/51) at Fair Grounds Saturday. "He's a great work horse," trainer Brad Cox said Sunday. "He's continued to do the same here at the Fair Grounds in preparing for the Pegasus. He looked fantastic this morning. We actually took him to the track today [jogging a mile Sunday] because we're due some cold weather in the next few days and we may miss a day of training....

Trainers Brad Cox, Bob Baffert and Todd Pletcher all have victories to their credit in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. and each of the three champion trainers will have an opportunity to add to those numbers in this year's $3-million feature Saturday, Jan. 27 at Gulfstream Park. Cox, who won the the 2021 renewal with Knicks Go (Paynter), looks set to be represented by a pair of entrants in the nine-furlong contest. Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming), front-running winner of the GI Pennsylvania Derby last September, will seek to...

New Narration, the dam of recent GI Pennsylvania Derby winner Saudi Crown, is the latest supplemental entry added to Fasig-Tipton's upcoming November Sale, the auction company said in a release Thursday. Consigned by Sequel New York, agent, as hip 259, the 8-year-old daughter of Tapit is in-foal to Nashville (Speightstown). Saudi Crown, her second foal, is expected to make his next start in the upcoming GI Breeders' Cup Classic. "New Narration is an exciting addition to our marquee November Sale lineup," said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. "Saudi Crown is one...

The afternoon's graded stakes action at Parx kicked off most appropriately with the flashy grey Next (Not This Time) annexing the GIII Greenwood Cup S. and it didn't take long for the grey train to continue with Nobody Listen (Conveyance) taking the GIII Turf Monster S. With the remnants of Tropical storm Ophelia cranking, keeping the sky dark and the track murky, Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming) completed the grey graded trifecta in the day's feature, the GI Pennsylvania Derby. Employing the same tactics used successfully earlier in the program over...

For the connections of 11 3-year-olds, the GI Pennsylvania Derby at Parx on Saturday represents a last-ditch effort to pick up an elusive Derby win and while it's not the Derby win most started out the year in search of, the $1 million purse, Grade I status and strong history of past winners makes it a coveted race to win nonetheless. Since Hall of Famer Woody Stephens trained Smarten (Cyane) to earn the inaugural Pennsylvania Derby trophy in 1979, a number of good 3-year-olds have also emerged from the nine-furlong...

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert will look for a record fifth victory when he sends out 3-1 morning-line favorite Reincarnate (Good Magic) in Saturday's GI betPARX Pennsylvania Derby. "This race is going to be a good step up for him," Baffert said. "He ran really well at Los Alamitos. He is going to have to break well and show up. That's the main thing. If he shows up, I don't see why he wouldn't run well." The field of 11 also includes 7-2 second choice Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming)...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Unbeaten and hardly challenged so far through four starts, New York Thunder (Nyquist) will not be an unknown Saturday in his second visit this summer to Saratoga Race Course. New York Thunder made a grand entry on the big stage at the Spa on July 28 with a resounding victory in the GII Amsterdam S. Sent off at 11-2 in his first race on dirt, he rolled to a 7 1/2-length score under jockey Tyler Gaffalione. Though he was eased up in the stretch when the...

Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's champion Forte (Violence) just got up to nail the pacesetting Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming) by a nose and had to survive a stewards' inquiry in a roughly run renewal of Saturday's GII Jim Dandy S. in the Saratoga slop. Racing with blinkers for the first time, the 3-4 favorite traveled kindly on the inside in third beneath Irad Ortiz, Jr. as Saudi Crown led the field of five through fractions of :23.93 and :48.10. All dressed up with nowhere to go approaching the quarter...