English/Ire
Lazzat looking to claim Saudi riches
Jeromie Reynier believes the intermediate trip in Saudi will provide his international star Lazzat with the perfect platform to get back to winning ways.
The 1351 Turf Sprint, which will be run over 1351m, will see Jerome Reynier's star Lazzat attempt to regain the winning thread having been pipped in the British Champions Sprint at Ascot on Champions Day in October.
A Group 1 winner at three in the Prix Maurice de Gheest and at four in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes, Lazzat will drop beyond the top-level for the first time in his last four starts and following a pleasing racecourse gallop, Jerome Reynier couldn't be happier with the Wathnan Racing-owned son of Territories.
"He's in great shape and we feel it's a perfect race for him," explained Reynier. "I think this is a tricky trip for some horses, but for him, it isn't. The distance of the 1351m is quite ideal and I've always had this race in the back of my mind.
"He had a really good racecourse gallop to prepare, so all the lights are green, and we can't wait to be there with him. I'm fairly sure he will be able to adapt himself to these conditions. He's been winning over right-handed, left-handed and straight courses on good, firm and heavy ground. He's just very versatile.
"The draw is quite important because if you draw wide, it gives you that much more of a challenge and I'd like to be down closer to the rail.
"Our horse breaks well though, so hopefully he can put himself into a good position. James Doyle will ride."
Lazzat is no stranger to racing outside of Europe having only been narrowly denied late on in the valuable Golden Eagle in Australia in November 2024 before finishing ninth in Sha Tin's Hong Kong Mile five months later.
"In Australia they went really fast and he got challenged too early and almost made it, but the 1500m – with so much pressure on him – he found it a bit too long," Reynier explained.
"In Hong Kong we didn't have much chance with him. They went too slow and Cristian (Demuro) didn't know him well, so everything went wrong. Despite that he ran a very good race, being a three-year-old in December going against older horses but he's a better horse now as a five-year-old."
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