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 Christophe Lemaire celebrates aboard Songline after winning the 1351 Turf Sprint
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There are two sprints held on Saudi Cup night, one on the dirt and one on the turf. The $1.5 million Riyadh Dirt Sprint (G3) presented by Saudia is the feature sprint event on the card, contested at 1200 meters (about 6 furlongs) around one turn of the main track. After Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) runner-up Ginobili scratched, Dancing Prince was sent off as the 6-5 favorite off wins in the Keiyo Stakes and the Capella Stakes (G3) at Nakayama. In to challenge him included 7-2 second choice Switzerland, winner of the Burj Khalifa Al Garhoud Sprint at Meydan, and 9-2 third choice and defending champion Copano Kicking, 4th in the Tokyo Hai last out.
 Head on shot at the finish |
Jockey Christophe Lemaire sent favorite Dancing Prince to the lead and he set fractions of 23.88 and 47.31 while pressed by 9-1 Good Effort and stalked by 66-1 Beehive. Turning for home, Dancing Prince left the field behind, drawing off to win by 5 3/4 lengths over Good Effort in 1:10.26. It was another 1/4 length back to late-running Chain of Love third.
Results Chart for the race from Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, and the video replay. Results for US wagering:
7th RACE King Abdulaziz - Saudia Riyadh Dirt Sprint
3 Dancing Prince 4.60 3.20 2.40
7 Good Effort 8.00 5.80
12 Chain of Love 7.40
Running time - 1:10.26
$1.00 EXACTA 2-6 19.00
$1.00 TRIFECTA 2-6-3 144.50
$1.00 SUPERFECTA 2-6-3-13 901.40
Left: Dancing Prince heads to the winner's enclosure. Takuhito Sawae, assistant to winning trainer Keisuke Miyaga said, "This is only our third season training, so this is huge. This is our best moment."
Right: The trophy presentation for the Riyadh Dirt Sprint.
Left: Dancing Prince in the walking ring before the race. Winning jockey Christophe Lemaire said, "This is unbelievable. I knew this was a very good horse and it's easy when you are riding good horses. I'm so happy for connections. I have been in Japan for two years with the restrictions and no travel, so I was fresh tonight! My horses were just too good tonight. I don't know what to say."
Right: Third place finisher Chain of Love returns after the race. The Michihiro Ogasa trainee improved her record to 2 wins, 3 seconds, and 1 third in 19 starts, earning $1,016,992 for owner Koji Maeda.
 Down the stretch in the stc 1351 Turf Sprint. |
The $1.5 million 1351 Turf Sprint (G3) presented by stc is contested at 1351 meters (about 6 3/4 furlongs) around one turn of the turf course. Naval Crown was sent off as the 8-5 favorite off an 11th place effort in the Hanshin Cup (G2) after finishing 8th in the Fuji Stakes (G2). In to challenge him included 5-2 second choice Casa Creed, 8th in the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1), and 5-1 third choice Songline, winner of the Fuji Stakes but 15th in the Hanshin Cup.
Jockey James Doyle sent favorite Naval Crown to the lead from the far outside post and was pressed by 13-1 Happy Power and stalked by 14-1 Pogo and 53-1 Third Kingdom. Turning for home, the pacesetters tired as 18-1 Happy Romance, midpack early, came through to gain a short lead, however Songline, 6th erly under Christophe Lemaire, rallied on the outside to win by a neck over Casa Creed in 1:18.00. It was another neck back to Happy Romance third, while Naval Crown faded late to check in 11th beaten 7 1/2 lengths.
Results Chart for the race from Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, and the video replay. Results for US wagering:
2nd RACE King Abdulaziz Racecourse - stc 1351 Turf Sprint
14 Songline 12.00 9.00 6.00
1 Casa Creed 3.80 3.60
12 Happy Romance 10.40
Running time - 1:18.00
$1.00 EXACTA 14-1 26.40
$1.00 TRIFECTA 14-1-12 397.40
$1.00 SUPERFECTA 14-1-12-6 8,760.90
Left: Songline heads to the winner's enclosure. Winning trainer Toru Hayashi said, "This is the greatest moment of my career. I have been training for only four years and it is my first time racing a horse outside of Japan, so for Songline to do this… I think I am dreaming! She is such a brilliant filly and the ride from [Christophe] Lemaire was perfect. The owners also deserve great credit for their ambition in coming here. As a three-year-old last year she raced well in this counter-clockwise direction over a mile and she has a lot of natural speed, so we thought we could run well coming back in distance a little.
Right: The trophy presentation for the stc 1351 Turf Sprint.
Left: Songline in the walking ring. Winning jockey Christophe Lemaire said, "It all starts with the breeding of course. For so many years the Japanese breeders and owners bought the best mares from all over the world, so the breeding in Japan became huge and very consistent. From there the level of Japanese horses has got better and better.
Right: Songline heads to the track before the race.
Left: Second place finisher Casa Creed returns after the race. Jockey Luis Saez said, "We ran pretty good. He finished strong. After the second jump we were getting there but it was too late."
Right: Third place finisher Happy Romance heads out to the track before the race. Jockey Tom Marquand said, "She's run absolutely superbly. I think it's testament to her heart more than anything that she could come out here and run so well. To be honest, we were hoping for that, but it's tough racing out here so for her to have gone so close is great."
Eleventh place finisher and beaten favorite Naval Crown in the walking ring before the race.
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