Endlessly Younger gained the lengthy straight on the King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the second yr in a row towards extremely gifted opponents. This time, it was the 2026 Saudi Cup for $20 million that value runner-up Nisos.
Endlessly Younger and Nisos had been comfortably off the tempo early within the 1,800-meter (about 1 1/8-mile) race on Feb. 14. On the best way residence, jockey Ryusei Sakai slipped Endlessly Younger by means of a spot alongside the rail, whereas Flavien Prat pushed Nisos up on the surface. Endlessly Younger was close to the 200 meter marker when it started to appear to be he wouldn’t be caught. The final margin was size.
“I favor shorter stretches, however it did not make any distinction,” mentioned Bob Baffert, Naissos’ coach. He has completed second on this race 4 occasions.
Endlessly Younger clocked a distance of 1:51.03. He paid $2.70 for a $2 profitable guess on a world pari-mutuel guess.
Tumbarumba completed third, an extra 3 3/4 lengths behind Nythos, and completed fourth, one size forward of Bishop’s Bay. Rattle N’ Roll, which positioned fifth final yr, completed in ninth place. Baffert’s runner-up, Nevada Seaside, completed twelfth out of 13 runners.
In reality, Endlessly Younger, a 5-year-old son of stallion Actual Metal, seems to have had a neater time than he did within the 2025 Saudi Cup, when he defeated Hong Kong’s world champion Romantic Warrior, who gained a back-and-forth battle.
“He isn’t one hundred pc but, however I felt assured when (Nissos) approached the highest of the straight line,” mentioned Endlessly Younger’s coach Yoshito Yahagi, also referred to as “The Man within the Hat.” Yahagi has at the moment gained three out of seven Saudi Cup matches, together with his time with Panthalassa in 2023.
Endlessly Younger burst onto the Japanese horse racing scene in October 2023, profitable his first three races. Later, his connections led to the stallion being despatched to Saudi Arabia for the 2024 Saudi Derby. In that race, Endlessly Younger gave the impression to be sluggish on the entrance of the lengthy stretch, however it appeared like Endlessly Younger was nicely outdone as New Jersey-based Booken Dunno jumped out to an enormous lead. Nonetheless, as soon as the gears clicked, Endlessly Younger closed the hole and gained by a head.
Endlessly Younger simply gained the UAE Derby in Dubai a month later, qualifying him for the 2024 Kentucky Derby offered by Woodford Reserve. On this race, Endlessly Younger got here in third place, two noses behind Mystic Dan and Sierra Leone, and a memorable trifecta of images had been taken.
After a protracted break, Endlessly Younger returned and gained the Japan Grime Basic in October, and completed third within the 2024 Longines Breeders’ Cup Basic with Sierra Leone profitable. He ended the season with a victory within the G1 Tokyo Grand Prix at Oi Racecourse.
Endlessly Younger achieved a symbolic victory within the 2025 Saudi Cup. Because it turned out, in a two-horse race, he conceded the result in Romantic Warrior, however then fought again to overhaul the established World Traveler and win by a neck. Coach Yahagi mentioned his third place on the 2025 Dubai World Cup was resulting from dangerous luck earlier than the race.
After one other lengthy break and preparation in Japan, he returned to Del Mar and gained the 2025 Longines Breeders’ Cup Basic over acquainted foe Sierra Leone by half a size.
The Saudi Cup is a part of the Breeders’ Cup Problem “Win, Get in” sequence, and Endlessly Younger has earned an automated, paid berth to this fall’s Breeders’ Cup Basic at Keeneland.
Even in a loss, Nisos’ efficiency was positively a victory in itself. Nisos was one thing of a challenge for Baffert, and his profession was interrupted by setbacks, regardless of his 8-7 Cup document. He involves Saudi Arabia after profitable the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Grime Mile and the Grade 2 Lafitte Pincay Junior Stakes in his earlier two races.
Baffert mentioned the Saudi Cup is “a gap in my resume. That is one race I have never gained but and I wish to win. If we do not get there this yr, we’ll be again.”
If that’s the case, he could need to face Endlessly Younger once more.
Proprietor Susumu Fujita mentioned, “I am glad we gained.” “The plan was to retire on the finish of the yr. However I might have prolonged it for 2 extra months for an additional Saudi Cup.”
