Spirit Dancer gave prominent owners Sir Alex Ferguson, Ged Mason and Fred Done a day to remember when powering home to snatch the Group 2 Howden Neom Turf Cup at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh on Saturday.
The improving seven-year-old went from strength-to-strength last season under the watchful eye of Richard Fahey, booking the first leg of his international voyage by winning the Group 3 Strensall Stakes at York's Ebor Meeting last August. Victory on the Knavesmire would guarantee Spirit Dancer a spot in the Bahrain International trophy at Sakhir later that year and it would be there that he confirmed himself as a horse who could mix it with the very best on the world stage.
A commanding two-and-a-quarter-length victory in Bahrain would set up the next leg of Spirit Dancer's international adventure. A step up to Group 1 level for the first time would see the lightly raced Richard Fahey-trained seven-year-old emerge with plenty of credit as he stayed on nicely into fourth behind Godolphin's Measured Time and Ottoman Fleet in the Jebel Hatta.
Where next many asked? Saudi Arabia would be the next port of call for Sir Alex Ferguson's homebred son of Frankel and although the Howden Neom Turf Cup is only labelled with Group 2 status, it was a race littered with Group 1 quality including Aidan O'Brien's former top-level winner Luxembourg and one-time Epsom Derby candidate The Foxes.
John and Thady Gosden's Jack Darcy set out to make the running of the one-mile two-and-a-half-furlong contest but as Kieran Shoemark kicked the front-runner for home entering the straight, Luxembourg quickly appeared on the scene, seemingly full of running under Ryan Moore. Aidan O'Brien's charge picked up the running with a couple of furlongs left to travel but as one horse began to falter once asked to seal his race, another was only just getting going in the hands of Irish St Leger-winning rider Oisin Orr.
Spirit Dancer soon emerged as a seismic threat to his rivals, with Oisin Orr unleashing the 8/1 chance down the centre of the Saudi track. The pair hit the front with 150 yards to travel and readily drew clear to beat the staying-on Japanese-trained Killer Ability (33/1) by a length.
Calif filled the third spot with Luxembourg, who was sent off the 8/13 favourite, having to settle for fourth.
"It's fantastic," said the ex-Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson on Racing TV.
"After the triumph in Bahrain and coming to this level and looking at the field – the performance from Oisin and the horse was unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.
"Richard has made the point a few times that the horse hasn't had a lot of racing, he has been trying to step it up and I think you've seen the evidence today.
"Oisin said to me that the horse is improving all the time and the evidence is there. I'm delighted."
Trainer Richard Fahey added: "I'd say it'll be very hard not to send him to Dubai, we'll see how he is and make a decision but I'd be a little bit shocked if he doesn't line up in something on World Cup night.
"I've always wanted to stretch him out to a mile and a half, but the horse hasn't stopped blowing yet, so let him blow and we'll work it out!
"Any horse that can win on the international scene like this, they become the people's horse and he's heading that way.
"He's got a huge fan base, he's a progressive horse that's heading the right way.
"He gets his head down and gallops all the way to the line, people who are involved in horse racing love to see horses do that."
