With Joel Rosario up, the American horse beat the English Wait to Excel by 4 3/4 lengths at King Abdulaziz Racecourse

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (Special to Turf Diario) - The class of American Rattle N Roll was too much for his rivals in The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup (G3-1800 m, sand, US$400,000 purse), and with a resounding victory he secured a place in next month's Saudi Cup (G1), the world's most expensive race with its US$20,000,000 in prize money.
Impressive was the performance of the horse trained by Kenny McPeek and ridden by Joel Rosario, who came very far for most of the trip, cut ground on the turn and accelerated big on the stretch, dominating early and opening advantages very easily, finally beating Wait to Excel (Eng-Postponed) by 4 3/4 lengths, while the French Wootton'sun (Wootton Bassett) was third a neck back, all in a time of 1m52s95/100.
Winner of the Clark Handicap (G1) at Churchill Downs in his previous start, after missing the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Del Mar, where he was an also elegible, the son of Connect competed for the Lucky Seven Stable and Sharaf Mohamed Alhairi partnership.
Alhairi is the same owner who in 2024 won the Saudi Cup with the now-retired Senor Buscador (Mineshaft), now making a similar lease with Rattle N Roll, as he will run also for his colors in next month's big race and perhaps also in the Dubai World Cup (G1) in early April at Meydan, United Arab Emirates.
“We weren't guaranteed a place in the Saudi Cup unless we won a qualifying race, and that's why we needed to run the King's Cup. I think the way the track is at Gulfstream Park doesn't suit his style, because he likes a deep, heavy field; having had a performance here will be an advantage. It was a great performance,” McPeek told The Blood-Horse from the United States, where he was part of the Pegasus World Cup (G1).
Out of Jazz Tune (Johannesburg), after such a convincing victory, Rattle N Roll will go into the Saudi Cup as one of the top contenders.
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