Call The Wind Shines in Saudi Arabian Turf Handicap

Call The Wind stormed to the front at midstretch and rolled home first by 2 1/2 lengths in the $2.5 million Longines Turf Handicap at King Abdulaziz Racetrack Feb. 29, capping the first day of grass racing in Saudi Arabia.

The 6-year-old Frankel gelding saved ground the first time around the course, picked things up around the final turn, and found a seam inside to make his winning run for jockey Olivier Peslier.

Mekong, a 5-year-old gelding also by Frankel, was second in the 3,000-meter (about 1 7/8-mile) test, with Prince of Arran another 2 1/2 lengths back in third. Dee Ex Beeled the way, then tired to finish 10th in a field filled with world-class stayers.

Contango was a longshot fourth, and Cross Counter, who won the 2018 Lexus Melbourne Cup (G1), finished fifth.

Call The Wind made his first start since three consecutive runner-up showings in top French races late last year. He capped those with a second in the Oct. 27 Prix Royal-Oak (G1) at ParisLongchamp.

"He's 6 now," said winning trainer Freddie Head as dusk gathered over the desert setting. "But I think he has improved from last year. I think he's still improving."

Asked whether Dubai will be next on his agenda, Head said, "It must be." But he added, "If you had told me that we would be here, running in a two and a half million-dollar race for stayers, I would have said, 'Not in your wildest dreams.'"

Call The Wind is owned by his breeder, George Strawbridge, who also bred 2019 U.S. Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar. Head said it's unlikely Call The Wind will be seen in America because the classic European staying races are on his dance card. Even the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T), he said, is too short.

The Turf Handicap was run over a new course, planted in November and nurtured by a team of sporting turf experts from England. Riders and trainers alike were generous with praise for the surface.

Port Lions Makes History

The first turf race in Saudi history produced a stunning upset as Port Lions missed the start badly in the $1 million Mohamed Yousuf Naghi Motors Cup but still was able to outfinish the luckless Deirdre by a head.

For the Top led most of the 2,100 meters (about 1 5 1/16 miles) and held on well to finish third.

"He just stood there (at the start)," rider Adrie De Vries said of Port Lions, a 5-year-old Kodiac gelding. "Usually he's very good out of the gate, so it was very surprising."

Deirdre, an international success story last summer and the winner of the Qatar Nassau Stakes (G1) in August at Goodwood, had no luck. With Oisin Murphy up, the 6-year-old Harbinger mare raced midfield and was caught in a box turning for home. Finally finding daylight, she got by For the Top and put a head in front of Port Lions close to the finish.

But Deirdre could find no answer to Port Lions' second effort in the final strides. The issue was decided by little more than a head bob as Port Lions finished in 2:11.41.

"He was definitely under the radar," winning trainer Fawzi Naas said. Naas said he will have to survey the landscape before picking a new target for his surprise star.

Dark Power Sprints Home

Al Adiyat Racing, with the help of Frankie Dettori, won the second turf race ever run in Saudi Arabia as Dark Power tracked down pacesetting Mubtasim in the closing strides to win the $1 million stc 1351 Sprint Cup by a head. Dark Power got the sponsor's custom-tailored 1,351 meters (about 6 1/2 furlongs) in 1:19.63.

Legends of War, one of two U.S. starters, raced near the front under Rafael Bejarano but faded late to finish sixth in a bunch behind the leaders. The other American, Ghoul, was not a factor and finished eighth.

Dark Power, trained by Allan Smith, was 4-for-5 in Bahrain last year.

"I've been in Bahrain for 25 years," Smith said. "It's just nice for the country."

Smith said he argued for a European campaign for Dark Power last summer and hopes to convince the owners that now would be a good time to reconsider.