Dan Blacker’s American raider settled Riyadh Dirt Sprint without fuss
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (Special for Turf Diario).- Straight No Chaser (Speightster) arrived from America with the billing as one of the major equine attractions of this year’s The Saudi Cup meeting and he duly dazzled in the US$2m Riyadh Dirt Sprint presented by Saudi National Bank.
Lightly-raced for a 6-year-old but brought to a peak by trainer Dan Blacker, Straight No Chaser was last seen in November when taking the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint at Del Mar.
Kept in training by the Myracehorse syndicate for another campaign, Straight No Chaser was swiftly into the lead under John Velazquez and shrugged off the attentions of Jasper Krone (Frosted). Velazquez pressed on over the final 400m and although Muqtahem (Soldier's Call) emerged as a brief danger, he was kept at bay by a clear three and three-quarter lengths in 1:11.159.
John Velazquez, says about the race: "He broke really well and I was actually, after Jasper Krone came up on the outside, going to see if I could get him back a little bit and tried to grab him.
"He started to fight me, so I just said, 'OK, I’ll leave him alone' and then he relaxed a little better. He broke so sharp and I was trying to get loose reins.
"Then he was looking for the bit and I didn’t want to touch him. I just wanted him to relax. All of a sudden [Jasper Krone] took back a little bit and my horse engaged and I said, ‘Let’s go’. Turning for home he was moving really well and then passing the sixteenth pole he idled a little bit and started looking around and I said, 'Oh no, no idling here' and he finished up well."
Dan Blacker, winner's trainer, added : "I’m just really proud of the horse and I’m glad he gets to prove himself on the global stage against the fastest horses in the world.
"It’s pretty exciting. I’m thankful for The Saudi Cup and Prince Bandar for welcoming us here and I’m fired up that he’s a Breeders’ Cup winner who’s now won a Breeders’ Cup 'Win & You’re In'. We’ll see how he comes out, but hopefully on to Dubai."
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