The richest race in the world became a race for the ages on Saturday, as Forever Young and Romantic Warrior fulfilled hopes of an epic clash in the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1).

Japanese star Forever Young scored his first internationally recognized Group 1 victory in Sunday’s Tokyo Daishoten (G1) at Oi.

As the 2024 Triple Crown concluded with a muddled picture among the three-year-old males, the door is open for a late bloomer.

With last year’s champion, Lemon Pop, leading the Japanese charge on the Saudi Cup (G1), Sunday’s February (G1) at Tokyo had a more open look. Even so, few could have foreseen the magnitude of the upset in store.