{"id":767239,"date":"2026-02-16T01:27:26","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T01:27:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/767239\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T01:27:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T01:27:26","slug":"umamusume-soon-says-fujita-after-forever-youngs-saudi-cup-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/767239\/","title":{"rendered":"Umamusume soon says Fujita after Forever Young’s Saudi Cup win"},"content":{"rendered":"

Forever Young\u2019s legend swelled in Riyadh Saturday night with an emphatic and historic second win in the G1 Saudi Cup, but his legacy will be felt beyond the red dirt and white rails of the King Abdulaziz race track, or Del Mar, or Oi, or Funabashi for that matter.<\/p>\n

Japan\u2019s greatest dirt track runner, the best in the world in that sphere right now, is about to be immortalised in the burgeoning gaming world, as a character in Umamusume: Pretty Derby, the video game, anime and manga franchise that his big-spending owner Susumu Fujita\u2019s Cygames has developed and is taking to the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cForever Young will be in Umamusume soon, I can\u2019t say the exact details, but it\u2019s a huge thing for me personally that Forever Young can contribute to Umamusume,\u201d Fujita told Idol Horse in the hectic minutes after he had spoken to a packed press conference and was being hurried away to catch a late-night flight home.<\/p>\n

The expectation among Umamusume\u2019s ardent fans is that Forever Young will be added to the game\u2019s character line-up on his own birthday on February 24 \u2013 five years to the day since the Umamusume game launched \u2013 transforming the hero horse into one of the game\u2019s iconic horse girls alongside past greats like the people\u2019s champion, Oguri Cap and the fans\u2019 darling, Almond Eye.<\/p>\n

Immediately after Forever Young\u2019s win on American soil in the G1 Breeders\u2019 Cup Classic last November, Umamusume\u2019s official social media accounts posted a tantalising image, a simple silhouette of a horse girl, with the numbers 2026.02.24.<\/p>\n

The numbers that mattered in Riyadh were US$10 million, 1:51.03, and one: the prize money banked, the time it took Forever Young to win the 1800m feature, and the distance by which he defeated the American runner-up Nysos.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was just born in the wrong year,\u201d said Nysos\u2019s trainer Bob Baffert. \u201cThe horse showed up but so did Forever Young. We\u2019re disappointed we got beat but we got beat by a really good horse; Forever Young is just a great horse.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ForeverFOREVER YOUNG, RYUSEI SAKAI \/ G1 Saudi Cup \/\/ King Abdulaziz Racecourse \/\/\/ 2026 \/\/\/\/ Photo by Shuhei Okada<\/p>\n

\"ForeverSUSUMU FUJITA (L), YOSHITO YAHAGI, RYUSEI SAKAI \/ G1 Saudi Cup \/\/ King Abdulaziz Racecourse \/\/\/ 2026 \/\/\/\/ Photo by Shuhei Okada<\/p>\n

Not long after Baffert left the scene, Ryusei Sakai, Forever Young\u2019s jockey, departed the track, black-suited, walking into the quiet of the darkened car park with his pencil straight arm raised aloft and waving \u2013 as if he was a conquering general saluting the grateful masses on victory parade \u2013 while a handful of vocal female fans whooped and cheered echoing goodbyes.<\/p>\n

Sakai had opted to take a spot on the rail, one behind the leader, from his starting point in gate five. Forever Young rolled through the race without too much fuss as the kickback came his way, and any fears he might be stuck in a pocket disappeared when Adel Alfouraidi on the pace-setter Banishing drifted off the fence at the top of the stretch, handing him a clear passage to the line.<\/p>\n

Nysos challenged on the outer, but the distance appeared to be a shade too far for the G1 Breeders\u2019 Cup Dirt Mile winner, and the opponent too strong.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he jumped out, another horse tried to go around me, which I expected, so I tried to be calm and whenever I got space, he progressed and got his position,\u201d Sakai said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI respected Nysos before the race and he challenged me and we had a great race, so I enjoyed that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baffert had praise for the victors: \u201cThat jockey that rides him, he rides him with so much confidence and he just got through there,\u201d he said, \u201cKing Kong got beat!<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the first time Nysos has ever been really tested and it took a horse like Forever Young. It\u2019s the first time we\u2019ve travelled him (overseas), and to run like that: it\u2019s hard to bring a horse of that calibre here, that\u2019s the best one I\u2019ve brought here.\u201d<\/p>\n

The winning trainer Yoshito Yahagi had said before the race that his charge was \u201cover 90 percent\u201d in condition. The bay stepped out under the floodlights looking strong, his coat healthy, his demeanour calm and focused, and after he had taken the spoils again, Yahagi reaffirmed, \u201cHe\u2019s not 100 per cent in his condition yet, he still has space to improve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fujita said the Dubai World Cup is the plan now, the aim being to banish the disappointment of last year\u2019s third in the big race at Meydan, but beyond that, the schedule is not set. Yet the owner revealed that the five-year-old might not retire to stud at this year\u2019s end, with a third Saudi Cup win the new target.<\/p>\n

There had been talk in the past about Forever Young testing his prowess on turf, with a grand farewell in the G1 Arima Kinen in December even mooted. But that exciting yet unlikely pipedream is now barely that, it seems.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Dubai World Cup is our main target, at the moment, but after that we have not made any plans yet,\u201d Fujita said. \u201cI changed my mind a little bit now and I would like to win the Saudi Cup again next year,\u201d adding that it\u2019s only a two-month career extension.<\/p>\n

He added, too, that winning a race in the Japan Racing Association (JRA) is one priority this year, but if the Arima Kinen is off the board, which race that might be is not certain and was not stated, and past hints that Forever Young might race in Europe seemed to be squashed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe we\u2019d like to try turf racing,\u201d Yahagi added, \u201cbut my feeling (with Forever Young) is a little bit negative about racing in Europe; I don\u2019t like to decide a horse\u2019s ability, a horse always has a future so I don\u2019t want to cut out any possibility, and I would still like to see how he might run on the turf.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ForeverFOREVER YOUNG\u2019S CONNECTIONS \/ G1 Saudi Cup \/\/ King Abdulaziz Racecourse \/\/\/ 2026 \/\/\/\/ Photo by Shuhei Okada<\/p>\n

The day had started well for Japan, albeit away from Riyadh, with the Yasutoshi Ikee-trained Deep Monster \u2013 a son of the great Deep Impact \u2013 winning the G2 Amir Trophy in another Gulf state, Qatar, under Tom Marquand. It was the first Japanese success in that race.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father trained Deep Impact and it was my family\u2019s dream to win a big race overseas with a son of Deep Impact, so that was my dream and the dream came true,\u201d Ikee said post-race in Doha.<\/p>\n

\u201cTom rode him perfectly, he rode him like I thought he would, so I give him credit for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The win \u2013 stalking one back on the fence \u2013 was an important one for the English rider who gained reward for the three winters he has raced in Japan, putting in the hard work, making contacts, and earning both wins and respect.<\/p>\n

But the buoyant mood was soon tempered in Saudi. The Japanese contingent was disappointed time after time as their contenders failed to challenge across the lucrative Riyadh card, until Forever Young came along in the final race and made up for it all.<\/p>\n

Satono Voyage set the pulses racing off the home turn under Keita Tosaki in the G3 Saudi Derby, but found the mile too far and faded to third behind the local rising star Al Haram; US sprinter Imagination took the G2 Riyadh Dirt Sprint and another American, Reef Runner, won the G2 1351 Turf Sprint, with the Japanese nowhere near.<\/p>\n

Flavien Prat drove Imagination \u2013 eye-catching in the paddock pre-race \u2013 to success and he even had a small hand to play in Irad Ortiz\u2019s victory on the powerful Reef Runner. The eagle-eyed might have spotted \u2018F. Prat\u2019 in small black writing on the back of Ortiz\u2019s white riding pants, close to the waste-band, as he returned to scale.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe magic pants!\u201d Ortiz laughed as he explained to Idol Horse, \u201cI have sponsorship on my pants but when they text me to tell me I can\u2019t wear them here, I was already on the plane.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got a good relationship with Flavien, he always has a big bag of stuff \u2013 I saw him last week at Tampa (Bay Downs), he had a big bag then \u2013 so I said, \u2018Flavien, did you bring some regular pants?\u2019 He said, \u2018yes, I have some\u2019, I said, \u2018I\u2019m probably going to need some.\u2019 So, he gave me these to wear.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said if I win, I have to give him five percent!\u201d he added with more laughter.<\/p>\n

\"IradIRAD ORTIZ \/ G2 1351 Turf Sprint \/\/ King Abdulaziz Racecourse \/\/\/ 2026 \/\/\/\/ Photo by Shuhei Okada<\/p>\n

\"OisinROYAL CHAMPION, OISIN MURPHY \/ G1 Neom Turf Cup \/\/ King Abdulaziz Racecourse \/\/\/ 2026 \/\/\/\/ Photo by Shuhei Okada<\/p>\n

The G2 Red Sea Turf Handicap was another poor result for the Japanese as Ireland\u2019s Sons And Lovers led a European clean-sweep of the placings under Dylan Browne McMonagle.<\/p>\n

Then in the first of the two Group 1 races, the Neom Turf Cup, Yahagi\u2019s Shin Emperor was not in the form that had won him the race so impressively last year, while the well-regarded Alohi Alii was never in contention after being unsettled in the starting stalls.<\/p>\n

Instead, it was the Karl Burke-trained Royal Champion who surged clear of his rivals under Oisin Murphy in brilliant style: like Deep Monster in Qatar, another eight-year-old in the form of his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a little bit soft,\u201d Burke told Idol Horse. \u201cIn the stables he can be a little bit aggressive and a bit soft at the races, he\u2019s not a worrier, but I\u2019ve seen him trembling at the start. He\u2019s a strong horse at home, but he\u2019s a girl\u2019s ride.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf anything has improved him, I\u2019d say it\u2019s where we train and the attention the girls give him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Royal Champion arrived at Burke\u2019s rural North Yorkshire stables in late 2024 in need of reinvention after a failed relocation to Australia, having started his career in Newmarket with Roger Varian. It was the gelding\u2019s late owner, Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum, who believed a move to the edge of Middleham\u2019s high moor would be best.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fantastic to do it on this stage, with the money and the way they\u2019re promoting racing in the Middle East area,\u201d Burke added. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to be competing here if you want to be doing it at the top level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Forever Young is at the very top of the top with his two Saudi Cups and his Breeders\u2019 Cup Classic among an impressive collection of victories, and as Cygames seeks to expand Umamusume\u2019s reach since its English-language game launch last summer, the brilliant champion\u2019s worldwide fame is the best marketing tool Fujita could have wished for. \u220e<\/p>\n

\"Damian<\/p>\n

David Morgan<\/p>\n

Japan, Asia And Beyond: Umamusume Cosplay, Coming To A Racetrack Near You?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"prettyderby\"\/<\/p>\n

Idol Horse<\/p>\n

EXPLAINED | Umamusume<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Karl<\/p>\n

David Morgan<\/p>\n

Stronger For His Trials, Karl Burke Is Attracting The Bigger Players<\/p>\n

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