Senor Buscador prevails in exciting Saudi Cup finish

PA Sport Staff
February 24, 2024 7:19 pm

American runner shades Japanese star Ushba Tesoro on the line.

Senor Buscador grasped victory in the final strides to land the Saudi Cup for American trainer Todd Fincher.

The six-year-old was ridden by Junior Alvarado and started in stall four for the Group One, which is worth nearly GBP 8million to the winning connections.

Saudi Crown made the running around the one-mile-one-furlong trip and as the field of 14 rounded the home turn, Senor Buscador had only fading horses behind him and a significant amount of ground to make up.

The bay, who was second to National Treasure in the Pegasus World Cup last time out, then began to accelerate and pass horses in the home straight.

He made his way to the front of the race and fell into stride with Japanese raider Ushba Tesoro as Saudi Crown slipped into third place.

SEÑOR BUSCADOR!! 🇺🇸 🇸🇦 🤯

One final stride to run down USHBA TESORO #ウシュバテソーロ and land the world’s most valuable race.#TheSaudiCup | #サウジカップ pic.twitter.com/qtAVIZuls0
— The Saudi Cup (@thesaudicup) February 24, 2024

The former two horses both lunged for the line and it was Senor Buscador who just came out on top to take the Saudi Cup back to America.

Joe Peacock jnr, who bred the horse with his late father and owns him alongside Sharaf Mohammed S Al Hariri, said after the victory: “Todd said early on that this race was set up perfectly for him.

“It’s the perfect distance, it’s just the one turn which is beneficial given his running style as we know he is going to come from way back and with two turns, he just gives up too much ground.

“I couldn’t be happier with the result. He knows where he needs to be and he got there on the day.

“I always worry about him because he gets so far back but we have a lot of confidence, a lot of faith in the horse.

Senor Buscador and Junior Alvarado winning the Saudi Cup (Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia / Neville Hopwood)

“He has a big heart, he doesn’t always get there but we knew that given time, he would put it all together and win a big one. We didn’t really think it would be the Saudi Cup but we’ll take it.

“He’s the last horse my dad and I bred together so it’s very, very special.”

Fincher had expected the race to suit Senor Buscador and was delighted to see him show his ability despite his late-finishing style.

He said: “The set up was perfect, there was plenty of speed in there. It’s a track that plays fair, we’ve been on some really speed-biased tracks but we felt this one plays fair and it did.

“He ran with the best horses in the world and he showed what he can do.

Junior Alvarado celebrates aboard Senor Buscador (Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia/Erika Rasmussen)

“I can make excuses for him but he puts himself in that position a lot of the time, he gets behind 10 or 11 horses and has to weave his way through.

“He doesn’t get a clean trip and always gets dirt kicked in his face but he does it to himself, he sure tries to overcome it every time!

“It’s a big purse and the best horses in the world. This horse, he has never got the credit he deserves and I was just so adamant that I wanted him to prove how good he is and he finally proved it.”

Alvarado added: “I always knew he was a very good horse, we just needed to have a fair track where he can have a better chance to win and he proved that today,” he said.

“He is a horse that when he’s ready he lets you know and starts picking up horses late on, you just ride along with him.

“It’s just a matter of time to get there, you try to measure it perfectly.”