SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2020 TODAY IN THE TDN ETE INDIEN ALL THE WAY IN FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH MR FREEZE DOMINATES GULFSTREAM PARK MILE TONALIST=S SHAPE STILL PERFECT AFTER DAVONA DALE PEGASUS TURF WINNER ADDS TO BANKROLL BODEMEISTER FILLY STEALS ANOTHER ONE AT GP IN TDN EUROPE SPEIGHTSTOWN=S FULL FLAT TAKES THE SAUDI DERBY FRANKEL EXACTA IN THE LONGINES TURF CUP ATTENDANCE RESTRICTED AT THREE FRENCH MEETINGS Click or tap here to go straight to TDN Europe/International PUBLISHER & CEO Sue Morris Finley @suefinley [email protected] SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT Gary King @garykingTDN [email protected] EDITORIAL [email protected] Editor-in-Chief Jessica Martini @JessMartiniTDN Managing Editor Sunday, March 1, 2020 Alan Carasso @EquinealTDN Senior Editor Steve Sherack @SteveSherackTDN Racing Editor Brian DiDonato @BDiDonatoTDN Deputy Editor Christie DeBernardis @CDeBernardisTDN Associate Editors Christina Bossinakis @CBossTDN Joe Bianca @JBiancaTDN News and Features Editor In Memoriam: Ben Massam (1988-2019) ADVERTISING [email protected] Director of Advertising Alycia Borer Advertising Manager Lia Best Advertising Designer Amanda Crelin Advertising Assistant/Dir. Of Distribution Rachel McCaffrey Advertising Assistants Amie Newcomb Saudi Cup coverage continues on page 3. | Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia/Mahmoud Khaled Kristen Lomasson Photographer/Photo Editor 70 HOURS IN RIYADH Sarah K. Andrew @SarahKAndrew 5 [email protected] Editor-in-Chief Jessica Martini shares her impressions of Saudi Arabia and King Abdulaziz racetrack. Social Media Strategist Justina Severni Director of Customer Service Vicki Forbes ETE INDIEN GOES GATE TO WIRE IN FOY 9 [email protected] Patrick Biancone trainee Ete Indien (Summer Front) rushed to the front from his wide draw and never Marketing Manager looked back to take Saturday’s GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain Alayna Cullen @AlaynaCullen of Youth S. at Gulfstream. Heavy favorite Dennis’ Moment Director of IT & Accounting (Tiznow) was last. Ray Villa [email protected] [email protected] TONALIST FILLY STAYS PERFECT 14 WORLDWIDE INFORMATION Tonalist’s Shape (Tonalist) was disrespected a bit by the International Editor bettors in Saturday’s GII Davona Dale S., but she got the Kelsey Riley @kelseynrileyTDN money once again to up her record to five for five [email protected] in Florida. European Editor Emma Berry [email protected] Associate International Editor Heather Anderson @HLAndersonTDN Newmarket Bureau, Cafe Racing Sean Cronin & Tom Frary [email protected] 60 Broad Street, Suite 100 Red Bank, NJ 07701 732-747-8060 | 732-747-8955 (fax) www.TheTDN.com TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 3 OF 22 • THETDN.COM SUNDAY • MARCH 1, 2020 SECURITY PAYS OFF IN THE DESERT Maximum Security in the winner=s circle | Neville Hopwood by Jessica Martini RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - Gary and Mary West and Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith=s Maximum Security (New Year=s Day) put the final exclamation point on a memorable day of racing at King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh Saturday, recording a gritty 3/4-length victory over Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute) in the inaugural $20-million Saudi Cup. Last year=s champion sophomore was forced to drift in and out down the lane as he attempted to overtake pacesetting Mucho Gusto (Mucho Macho Man) and finally took charge with 100 meters to run before holding off Midnight Bisou=s late rally from the rail. AIt was tough,@ admitted winning rider Luis Saez. AWhen we broke from the gate, it was tough. At the three-eighths, for a second I thought we were going to get beat. But he has an amazing heart. He=s the toughest horse I=ve ever ridden.@ Winning trainer Jason Servis said he was confident going into the world=s richest race. AHe was really doing good,@ Servis said. AI=m a little superstitious. I didn=t want to overtalk it. But the last three days, when he breezed a mile in 1:59.73, he really got over the ground good. And when he came off the track, you could see a presence about him. I tried to stay calm, but I was really feeling good the last few days.@ Coolmore purchased a half-interest in the colt's racing and breeding rights from Gary and Mary West in January. Asked if this was one of the group=s best investments, M.V. Magnier said, AAll I can say is we are very lucky people that Gary and Mary West let us into the horse. And it=s a credit to the team of gentlemen on my left [Servis and Saez]. The job they=ve done with this horse is quite incredible.@ Cont. p4 TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 4 OF 22 • THETDN.COM SUNDAY • MARCH 1, 2020 Saudi Cup cont. Saturday=s Saudi Cup card began with a pair of longshot winners from Bahrain. The crowd was still somewhat sparse when Port Lions (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) upset heavily favored Deirdre (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}) in the day=s first race, the $1-million Mohamed Yousuf Naghi Motors Cup. By the time Frankie Dettori and Dark Power (Ire) (Dark Angel) gave Bahrain back-to-back winners on the card with a determined score in the $1-million ST 1351 Turf Sprint a race later, however, the grandstand was nearly full. Frankie Dettori treats the crowd to his famous flying dismount following Dark Power=s win | Neville Hopwood Adrie de Vries and Port Lions were the first to ever win a race over the turf in Saudi Arabia and the jockey had nothing but praise for the new course, which was still only a dream last summer. AThe track is beautiful,@ he said. AI can=t believe in such a short time they were able to make it; it was a dream to ride on.@ Of Bahrain=s daily double, Dark Power=s trainer Allan Smith said, AI=ve been in Bahrain for some 25 years now and this is just nice for the country. It=s a big lift for racing there. The weather is just beautiful and horses do love to come there.@ The card=s first three races, all over the track=s brand new turf course, came in rapid succession, culminating with Olivier Peslier=s win aboard Call the Wind (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the $2.5-million Longines Turf Cup H. for legendary trainer Freddy Head and last year=s Eclipse Award-winning breeder George Strawbridge. Mekong (GB) closed late to give Frankel the exacta in the 3000-meter race. AIt=s a great moment,@ Head said. AAs a trainer you dream of winning races like that. It=s history.@ A dusty haze had settled over King Abdulaziz Racetrack and the sun had set by post time for the first of a trio of dirt races Saturday in Riyadh. Cont. p5 TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 5 OF 22 • THETDN.COM SUNDAY • MARCH 1, 2020 Saudi Cup cont. Japan=s Full Flat (Speightstown) may have earned a chance in the GI Kentucky Derby with his authoritative victory in the $800,000 Samba Saudi Derby, but jockey Yutaka Take might remember the day less for that win than for the loss he suffered in the next race. Matera Sky (Speightstown) was some 10 lengths in front with a furlong to go, only to be run down in the final strides by >TDN Rising Star= New York Central (Tapit) and Irad Ortiz, Jr. in the $1.5-million Saudia Cup Sprint. The dramatic finish proved Ortiz has picked up some of the local culture. AInshallah,@ the Puerto Rican native said of the photo finish. AWinning on a night like this means a lot,@ he added. AI enjoyed it, riding for Prince Faisal. I'm so excited.@ See 'TDN Europe' for the full results from the Saudi Cup card. 70 HOURS IN RIYADH by Jessica Martini When Prince Bandar bin Khalid Al-Faisal, chairman of the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, unveiled his plans for the world=s richest horse race last summer in Saratoga, I duly covered the event for TDN. But it wasn=t until months later that the idea started percolating in my head that maybe I would actually go see the race for myself. As a kid from New Jersey who loves to travel the world and grew up reading Black Stallion novels, there is something almost mystical about Saudi Arabia--a country that seemed as hidden and mysterious to me as its veil-covered women. As a woman traveling alone into the country, I admit I had some trepidation. But from the moment I boarded a Saudi Air flight from Heathrow to Riyadh Wednesday night--best airline food ever, by the way--I was welcomed warmly and treated with respect. Well. There was that one guy at passport control--I=m looking at you man in charge of line 42--but everyone involved in organizing the Saudi Cup seemed intent on making sure everything and everyone was well taken care of. My first impression of Saudi Arabia was a sort of dust-covered haze of the early morning. I was told the Tuesday morning flight landed in a dust storm and, while I didn=t see anything that dramatic, there was a sense that despite all the trappings of modern life, the desert was a brooding presence looming in the background. As the sun rose throughout the day, the haze dissipated, revealing a bustling metropolis. There seemed to be construction everywhere. And gravity-defying skyscrapers lit up at night in a panorama of undulating colors. And there is traffic. Wow. Is there traffic. Rush hour in Riyadh is not for the impatient. Cont. p6 TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 6 OF 22 • THETDN.COM SUNDAY • MARCH 1, 2020 70 Hours in Riyadh cont. With champion Maximum Security on the track below, local My first stop Thursday morning was to King Abdulaziz trainer Abdulaziz Khalid, who would saddle three runners during Racetrack.