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| Staff Writer |
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Soul of an Angel, the champion female sprinter, is among several high-profile American withdrawals including champions Sierra Leone and White Abarrio from the US$20 million Saudi Cup (Gr.1) at King Abdulaziz Racecourse on February 22. The Saffie Joseph Jr-trained mare will instead target the Madison Stakes (Gr.1) at Keeneland in April.
The 6YO mare, who finished third in the Rampart Stakes in December, had been on the alternate list for the 1⅛-mile contest. Her trainer confirmed the decision to remain stateside, saying: "She's not going for sure. That's official. She's going to go to the Madison. We're going to give her a little freshening now that we're not going to Saudi and probably in a month or so we'll start back breezing her."
Last winter, Soul of an Angel was second to stablemate Honor D Lady in the Gr.3 Royal Delta , and later captured the Gr.1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint , highlighting a championship season with eight top-three finishes from 11 starts.
Adding to the exodus, Grade One winner Locked has also withdrawn from the Saudi Cup. The Todd Pletcher-trained colt, who recently finished second in the Gr.1 Pegasus World Cup , will now target the US$1 million Gr.1 Santa Anita Handicap on March 1. The son of Gun Runner performed admirably in his 4-year-old debut, closing from eighth after a poor start.
Aron Wellman, founder and president of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, explained: "The decision to pass the Saudi Cup arrived from a combination of timing, logistics, and doing our best to map out a domestic campaign capable of posturing him for maximum success in the most prestigious, stallion value-enhancing events."
Meanwhile, in Britain, promising sprinter Iberian is likely to miss the 1351 Turf Sprint in Saudi Arabia. The Charlie Hills-trained colt, who won the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster and placed second behind Haatem in the Vintage Stakes at Goodwood, is expected to focus on a domestic campaign.
Racing manager Richard Ryan said: "He won't get in the race there; because it's a free entry, it is extensive in its number of entries and it's on a rating basis as far as the balloting format goes – it looks very unlikely that we will get in."
Ryan added: "The format for stakes-level speed horses is fairly apparent in the UK, in that it goes Cammidge Trophy, Duke of York and then Ascot, possibly you can throw in the Abernant at Newmarket. That takes you up to late June, so he'll probably take in one or two of those options en route to the Jubilee Stakes."
With these withdrawals, Rattle N Roll remains the lone U.S.-based contender for the Saudi Cup. The multiple graded stakes winner recently scored in Riyadh's local prep race, the Gr.3 Custodian Of The Two Holy Mosques Cup.