The Saudi Derby had been won by horses based in Japan in each of its first two runnings and the island nation swept the first three races on Saturday’s Saudi Cup undercard. Pinehurst (Twirling Candy) had his full battling qualities on display and withstood a late charge from Sekifu (Jpn) (Henny Hughes) to register a half-length success in the $1.5-million test, upgraded to Group 3 level for the first time in 2022.
“I’m very proud of him and happy for my team,” winning trainer Bob Baffert said from afar. “It’s exciting to win after coming up short a couple of times over there. I hate when they show that 100-meter line on the screen because I’ve lost so much money in that last 100 meters at that track the past two years, but we got it done today.”