RIYADH — Japanese trainer Yoshito Yahagi returns to King Abdulaziz racecourse with Forever Young, last year’s neck victor over Romantic Warrior, poised to claim a rare back-to-back Saudi Cup title on February 14 in the $20 million Group 1 showpiece.
Yahagi viewed Romantic Warrior as the sole threat in 2025, a hunch validated by their thrilling stretch duel where Forever Young surged late under Ryusei Sakai. “I didn’t think he would be beaten by any horse… If Forever Young was going to be beaten, it had to be by Romantic Warrior,” the trainer reflected, eyeing a third Saudi Cup win after Panthalassa’s 2023 triumph.
Fresh off history as the first Japanese Breeders’ Cup Classic winner at Del Mar last November, the Real Steel five-year-old sharpened up post-race. Yahagi noted the anti-clockwise track and long straight perfectly match Forever Young, whose reliable Sakai partnership also netted the 2024 Saudi Derby. A Dubai World Cup rematch looms next in his Middle East-focused spring.
Yahagi brings dual defending champs, with Shin Emperor targeting a repeat in the $3 million Group 1 Howden Neom Turf Cup. “He is in very good form… still improving,” the trainer said of the Sottsass full-brother, whose tactical speed thrives on the flat 2,100m layout.