Commissioner King Denies Havnameltdown in Saudi Derby

Local hope Commissioner King found just enough in the final strides to deny pacesetting American raider Havnameltdown  by a desperate head in the $1.5 million Saudi Derby (G3) Feb. 25 at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The Derby quickly turned into a two-horse race as jockey Frankie Dettori got multiple graded stakes winner Havnameltdown out to the early lead. Luis Morales positioned Commissioner King right behind and to the frontrunner's outside. They raced that way most of the 1,600-meter (about a mile) test, and in the final yards, it appeared Havnameltdown had things under control, but Commissioner King inched past his rival at just the critical moment.

"I just decided to hold my horse today and see what he could do in the last 400 (meters)," Morales said.

"When we hit the line, I knew we had won."

"I tried to save everything I could," Dettori said. "He was absolutely knackered, but he kept running on. He put on a great show."

Derma Sotogake  was third, and Es-Unico fourth.

Commissioner King is by Commissioner  and was bred in Kentucky by the Paul Tackett Revokable Trust and Phil Tacket Estate, et al. The Sabah Alshammri trainee is out of the Songandaprayer  mare Ek Haseena.

The winner had shown promise in winning the Ministry of National Guard Cup, a local group 3 race, by four lengths in his previous start, also going a mile with Morales up.

For Havnameltdown's trainer, Bob Baffert, the outcome was reminiscent of the 2022 Saudi Cup (G1), where Country Grammer  was caught in the final strides by another local horse, Emblem Road.

Havnameltdown came to Saudi Arabia as a winner of four of his five starts, three of them graded stakes and most recently in the seven-furlong San Vicente Stakes (G2). His only previous defeat was a second-place finish in the Del Mar Futurity (G1) to stablemate Cave Rock , the eventual runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1).

Baffert did not attend this year's Saudi Cup races or outline plans for his colt, who could be a candidate for the UAE Derby (G2) in Dubai next month.

Commissioner King's owner, Faisal Mohammed Al Alqahtani, is new to the sport, and Commissioner King is his first winner.

"It was a hell of a fight," the owner said. "In my eyes, he is one of the best horses ever. We knew early on that we had a very good horse."

The race does not have a history as a springboard to glory. Pinehurst   won the 2022 Saudi Derby for Baffert after winning the Del Mar Futurity (G1). He went to Dubai, where he finished 16th in the UAE Derby (G2). He later reported eighth in the Amsterdam Stakes (G2) at Saratoga Race Course in his final start and now stands at Walmac Farm.

Pink Kamehameha landed the race for Japan in 2021, then finished 10th in the UAE Derby. Full Flat , also trained in Japan, was the initial winner but did not win again in three subsequent starts.