MyRacehorse’s Kentucky-bred Straight No Chaser stamped his ticket to a title defense in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) with a dominating win in the $2 million Riyadh Dirt Sprint (G2) at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, Feb. 22.
Named last year’s Eclipse Champion Male Sprinter after a win in the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1), Straight No Chaser won the Riyadh Dirt Sprint (G2), a “Win and You’re In” for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) under jockey John Velazquez. Making his 2025 seasonal debut, the son of Speightster shrugged off fellow Breeders’ Cup rival Jasper Krone at the top of the lane. He repelled Saudi-based Muqtahem in the stretch to score by 3 ¾ lengths for trainer Dan Blacker.
“I’m just really proud of the horse and I’m glad he gets to prove himself on the global stage against the fastest horses in the world. It’s pretty exciting,” said Dan Blacker. “I’m fired up that he’s a Breeders’ Cup winner who’s won a Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In. We’ll see how he comes out, but hopefully on to Dubai (for the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen, another Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series event on April 5).”
Bred in Kentucky by John Eaton and Steve Laymon, Straight No Chaser is out of the Johannesburg mare Margarita Friday. Following his latest score, Straight No Chaser is now a winner in 7-of-11 lifetime starts and boasts career earnings of more than $2.6 million. He is a graduate of the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, where he fetched $110,000 from MyRacehorse out of the Paul Sharp consignment.