MbS made the remarks at an annual speech to the advisory Shura Council, which he gave on behalf of his father, King Salman
Zardana, a stablemate of Zenyatta, won by three-quarters of a length over Rachel Alexandra in the 200,000-dollar New Orleans Ladies event. It was the first race in more than six months for Rachel Alexandra, a 1-9 favorite.
“She was strong early and got tired,” said Rachel Alexandra trainer Steve Asmussen. “I’m just disappointed she didn’t win. It was a lack of fitness and it’s our job to have her there and I didn’t do it.”
Now Rachel Alexandra might not stage a matchup of last year’s impressive distaff darlings at the Apple Blossom on April 9 as planned, Asmussen refusing to guarantee his horse would race at Oaklawn.
“If I thought she would get beat, I wouldn’t have run her today,” Asmussen said. “So I’m definitely going to be cautious.”
Zardana, a 9-1 outsider riddem by jockey David Flores, stole a bit of the glory on Saturday and might be the big rival to Zenyatta next month in Arkansas.
Rachel Alexandra, 8-0 last year as a three-year-old, was ridden by Calvin Borel, the same jockey astride her for a victory in last year’s Preakness.
Zardana roared to the lead from third coming out of the final turn to win the 1 1/6th-mile race in 1:43.55. It was her eighth career triumph in 19 starts.
Rachel Alexandra, whose No. 2 post position was just inside Zardana, took the lead in the middle of the last turn but Zardana moved ahead moments later and the two raced side-by-side down the final stretch to the finish.
“I wanted to let her run her race early but they wanted me to wait,” Borel said.
MbS made the remarks at an annual speech to the advisory Shura Council, which he gave on behalf of his father, King Salman
His visit to Cairo aimed to salvage stalled negotiations mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States to end the conflict
The group accused Israel, which has so far refused to comment, as US denies involvement
Hundreds of pagers belonging to the armed group exploded in Lebanon on Tuesday, killed 12 people, including two children, and wounded up to 2,800 others
They view it as a pivotal move toward fostering inclusivity and diversity in corporate structures
Israel has not yet commented on the explosions
The meeting saw engaging discussions on Sinomach’s strategic initiatives and ongoing projects in the region