Twelve Japanese runners arrived at King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Saudi Arabia late Feb. 18. It was an uneventful 22-hour journey from Ritto Training Center near Osaka and all horses were reported to have settled in well at the international barns.
Authority will be the first Japanese representative to race on Saudi Cup Day Feb. 26. He is slated to run in the $1.5 million Neom Turf Cup Presented by Jahez (G3).
Authority finished second to Contrail, the 2020 Japanese Triple Crown winner, in the Japan Cup (G1) Nov. 28. The 5-year-old horse by Orfevre was given an official rating of 121 and ranked seventh in the long distance/turf division of the 2021 Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings.
The connections of Authority selected the 2,100-meter (about 1 5/16-mile) turf event at Riyadh, which was given grade 3 status this year, as his first start since the Japan Cup for a specific reason.
It is evident that Authority, who has run in nine graded stakes, prefers the ante-clockwise track. He started in five graded stakes at Tokyo Racecourse ante-clockwise, winning three of them and finishing second twice, including the Japan Cup. On the other hand, he started in four graded stakes at Nakayama and Hanshin, which are clockwise tracks, and never finished within the top two.
Japan expects Authority to start under favorable auspices for Japan on Saudi Cup Day.
