Saudi Cup and Dubai Turf hero Panthalassa bows out at Nakayama racecourse ceremony

Last year's Saudi Cup hero and 2022 Dubai Turf winner Panthalassa bowed out of a glittering racing career in a ceremony at Nakayama racecourse on Monday. 

Held after racing, a sizeable crowd gathered to pay tribute to the dual Group 1 winner, a son of Lord Kanaloa who will stand at Arrow Stud this term. 

Panthalassa, who made all last February in Riyadh to go with his dead-heat with Lord North at Meydan the previous March, won seven of his 27 starts for owner Hiroo Race Co Ltd. 

He was also placed a further six times, including when second to Equinox in the Tenno Sho in October 2022. 

Panthalassa is shown to Nakayama racecourse crowd on MondayCredit: Masakazu Takahashi

Trainer Yoshito Yahagi said of the Hidenori Kimura-bred seven-year-old: "I didn't think he would win two international Group 1s when he was younger as he was around at the same time as Contrail, who was a genius. 

"In human terms, he was a hard-working horse, and I want his children to beat Equinox's children."

Regular rider Yutaka Yoshida added: "I've won the big races overseas with him, but what I remember most is the frustration I felt when we were second in the Tenno Sho [to Equinox].

"I hope he enjoys his new life as a sire and I want to ride his offspring and win the big race some day. I want to thank him very much for his hard work."

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“That is one of the most noteworthy factors in Mehmas's early success as a stallion – three of his four top-level winners have achieved their best victories at three and older, even though Mehmas himself was retired to stud at the end of his juvenile career.”