Reef Runner Edges Lazzat to Win G2 1351 Turf Sprint in Riyadh

Reef Runner, a Florida-bred 5-year-old by The Big Beast, rallied late under Irad Ortiz Jr. to collar 7-5 favorite Lazzat by a neck in the G2 1351 Turf Sprint presented by Qiddiya City at King Abdulaziz Racecourse, covering 1,351 meters on good/firm turf in an official time of 1:18.24 on Feb. 14, 2026. Ortiz guided the gelding from post 10 and Reef Runner paid $21.10 on a $2 win ticket in the $2,000,000 race.

The victory returned $1,200,000 to owner-breeders Alex and JoAnn Lieblong and lifted Reef Runner’s career bankroll to $1,827,580, making him the 189th Florida-bred millionaire. Trainer David Fawkes and the Lieblongs were debuting in Saudi Arabia when their homebred produced the upset; TDN listed Reef Runner’s updated record as 23-8-5-5 with a Werk Nick Rating of A.

Pace dynamics shaped the outcome. Shin Forever showed the early speed on the rail with Zio Jo positioned between horses in second and Lazzat traveling three-wide. Ortiz kept Reef Runner tucked behind that trio alongside Panja Tower and Marvelman, then shifted outside at the top of the stretch and ran down Lazzat in the final 200 meters, taking the lead with roughly 100 meters remaining. Ortiz reflected on the trip: “We broke from the 10-hole and he’s been running five furlongs, so I suspected that he was going to put me in a good position without using too much. That’s what I wanted to do.” He added, “Then, turning for home, I was biding my time and when I hit the clear and asked him, he gave me a good kick, like he always does.”

Lazzat, a 5-year-old by Territories running for Wathnan Racing and trained by Jerome Reynier, finished a neck in arrears with James Doyle aboard and collected a $400,000 runner-up prize. Doyle pointed to an outside draw as a factor: “Very disappointed to get beaten obviously. He’s a horse that we love but when we got the 12 stall, for a horse who’s quite fast, there was a disadvantage. He has only been beaten a short distance.” Comanche Brave, trained by Donnacha O’Brien, closed to take third, about three-quarters of a length behind Lazzat.

Connections and context underscored the win’s wider meaning. JoAnn Lieblong “was trembling as she tried not to cry” after seeing her homebred beat a Royal Ascot-winning sprinter, and Fawkes praised his rider: “I thought Irad did a great job. He had him in a perfect position the whole time. He told me where he was going to be sitting and that is where he was. He is a trier. I wasn’t bothered about the draw at all as it is so far around the backside. I love coming to a place and win the first time. Everything was perfect. The horse trained excellent, it means a lot to me. I know we beat a really good horse from France. I think we might go to Dubai if we get invited.”

Reef Runner’s form profile includes a Dec. 20 Janus Stakes win at Gulfstream and an Eddie D Stakes score at Santa Anita at about 6 1/2 furlongs, plus a fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, establishing him as a specialist at sprint-to-6 1/2-furlong trips. The result also reinforced a larger trend on the Saudi Cup card: American raiders claimed multiple $2,000,000 events, with Imagination earlier taking the Riyadh Dirt Sprint, and Reef Runner’s upset adds to the international spotlight on U.S. sprinters and Florida breeding. Social posts from FanDuel Racing and NYRA circulated images and a GIF of Ortiz’s late surge, amplifying the win for global audiences and potential invitations to Dubai.