By Alan Carasso
Japanese-based horses had taken three of the first five renewals of the G3 Saudi Derby and went within a half-length of a fourth, and for the majority of Saturday's 1600-meter contest, it appeared they might add to that record. But although he required most of the long straight at King Abdulaziz Racetrack, Dubai raider Golden Vekoma (Vekoma) called on his class to grab Japan's dirt debutant Shin Forever (Complexity) with just under 100 meters to race and inched away to add to his prior success in the G3 UAE 2000 Guineas across in Dubai Jan. 24.
Settled midfield through the early exchanges as the undefeated Japanese filly Myriad Love (Jpn) (New Year's Day) and Shin Forever made the running, Golden Vekoma was sent in between Japanese runners at the 600 meters and had the now lone leader Shin Forever within his sights approaching the straight. The Japanese galloper, a grass maiden winner at first asking last year, had a kick and carried a clear advantage into the final furlong, but, racing on his incorrect lead, Golden Vekoma grabbed him with time ticking away and went on to prevail, keying a one-two finish for OBS graduates.
“He was a horse we thought a hell of lot of from the beginning of the season,” said winning jockey Connor Beasley. “He has been progressing all the way. it's good for myself and good for the horse. We are up against the best here and for us to do it in the Derby, you know this is what dreams are made of.
“All my horse does is gallop and once I was half a length down on the leader, I always thought he was going to get there. What this horse has done for us this season is pretty special and he is only going to go on to bigger and better things. I'm just delighted that we got this box ticked.”
A half-brother to Midshipman's Dance, winner of this year's Mockingbird Stakes at Oaklawn Park, Golden Vekoma hails from a third dam rich with Ramona Bass Stables black-type, including MGSW Goliad (War Front), MSWs Dancing To Town (Speightstown) and Welcome Dance (Henny Hughes), MGSP Fredericksburg (Speightstown) and the latter's Grade II-placed full-sister Line Dancing. Sticks Wondergirl did not produce a foal in 2023 or 2024 and was most recently bred to Tiz the Law.
Saturday, King Abdulaziz (Riyadh), Saudi Arabia
SAUDI DERBY-G3, $1,500,000, King Abdulaziz, 2-22, NH/SH3yo, 1600m, 1:38.18, ft.
1–GOLDEN VEKOMA, 121, c, 3, by Vekoma
1st Dam: Sticks Wondergirl (SW-US, $198,048),
by Stevie Wonderboy
2nd Dam: Y Country, by Quiet American
3rd Dam: Dance For Vanny, by Sovereign Dancer
($145,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP; $90,000 2yo '24 OBSAPR).
O-Mohammed Ahmad Ali Alsubousi; B-Woods Edge Farm, LLC
(KY); T-Ahmad bin Harmash; J-Connor Beasley; $900,000.
Lifetime Record: GSW-UAE, 4-3-0-1, $1,068,145. *1/2 to
Midshipman's Dance (Midshipman), SW-US, $178,589. Werk
Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Shin Forever, 121, c, 3, Complexity–Praising, by Pulpit.
1ST BLACK TYPE. 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. ($160,000 Ylg '23
KEESEP; $300,000 2yo '24 OBSMAR). O-Susumu Fujita; B-Bret
Jones (KY); T-Hideyuki Mori; J-Akira Sugawara; $300,000.
3–Mhally (GB), 121, g, 3, Sergei Prokofiev–Greatestshowgirl
(GB), by Showcasing (GB). 1ST BLACK TYPE. 1ST GROUP BLACK
TYPE. (28,000gns Wlg '22 TATDEC; 35,000gns HRA '24
TATAPR). O-Sheikh Abdullah Homoud Almalek Alsabah;
B-K. A. Bartlett & J. M. Beever (GB); T-Thamer Aldaihani;
J-Ricardo Ferreira; $150,000.
Margins: 1 3/4, 3 3/4, 3 3/4.
Also Ran: Mistress (Jpn), Badr Alsamawi (KSA), Giustino (Arg), Myriad Love (Jpn), Apples And Bananas (Ire), Cyclone State. Scratched: Mhalhal, Faal Khair.
He had to dig deep but GOLDEN VEKOMA was able to grind out the win in the $1,500,000 Saudi Derby (G3) at @TheSaudiCup. The three-year-old son of Vekoma (@spendthriftfarm) is trained by A Bin Harmash. @connorbeasley9 gave a brilliant ride. pic.twitter.com/hc3FR4XwfZ
— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) February 22, 2025
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
