RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — If there is one thing better than winning a major international race with a homebred, it is when that horse just happens to be by an under-the-radar sire who carried those same colours.
So is the story of Alex and JoAnn Lieblong's journey from Arkansas to Saudi Arabia to take the G2 1351 Turf Sprint with their pride and joy Reef Runner. The five-year-old gelding is a son of GI King's Bishop Stakes winner The Big Beast, who stands in Florida for the princely sum of $4,000.
“It's a better pedigree than it might look,” Alex Lieblong had told Alan Carasso when speaking to TDN earlier this week – and it's looking better all the time.
JoAnn was trembling as she tried not to cry. Somewhere between laughter and those tears which eventually sprang forth the couple tried to take in what had just happened. Their “baby” had just run down Royal Ascot-winning sprinter Lazzat (Territories) to land the lion's share of the $2m purse on offer.
Winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr said of his likeable mount, “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.”
Trainer David Fawkes, with his first runner in Saudi, added, “I thought Irad did a great job, he had him in a perfect position the whole time. We talked before the race, pretty much he told me where he was going to be sitting and that's where he was. He's a trier.”
Try he did, from a wide draw, that ultimately proved to be of little concern, with Ortiz tucking his mount in sweetly behind a pretty frenetic pace.
“It didn't bother me at all because they went so hard down the backside,” Fawkes added.
Filling in the story of how Reef Runner came to be, JoAnn Liebling said, “He's our baby. It's so special. He's [by] The Big Beast, who we raced, and his dam is a half-sister to [GI Santa Anita Oaks winner] Paradise Woods.”
Asked what's next for the five-year-old gelding, Fawkes, a long-time ally of the Lieblongs replied, “I think we're going to Dubai,” though he was swiftly overruled by Alex Lieblong, who added, “We're going to church.”
For Jerome Reynier it was a day of two seconds, with another good effort from Lazzat being followed by his Facteur Cheval (Ribchester) filling the same spot in the Neom Turf Cup. He can be proud of his stable stars.
Donnacha O'Brien's first visit to Riyadh ended with a decent third for Comanche Brave (Wootton Bassett), who finished only a length off the winner.
Pedigree Notes
Reef Runner, winner of the GII Eddie D Stakes last year, also ran fourth in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint in November. He ended 2025 with a win in the Listed Janus Stakes in Florida. He is one of three winners from four to race for his dam and is a full-brother to Big Paradise, who won the Juvenile Sprint Stakes at Gulfstream Park. The mare's latest offspring is a filly by Omaha Beach and she was covered by Life Is Good last spring.
Saturday, King Abdulaziz (Riyadh), Saudi Arabia
1351 TURF SPRINT (Presented by Qiddiya City)-G2, $2,000,000, King Abdulaziz, 2-14, 4yo/up, 1351mT, 1:18.24, gd/fm.
1–REEF RUNNER, 126, g, 5, by The Big Beast
1st Dam: Paradise Bay, by Blame
2nd Dam: Wild Forest, by Forest Wildcat
3rd Dam: Uforia, by Zilzal
O/B-Alex & JoAnn Lieblong (FL); T-David Fawkes; J-Irad Ortiz Jr; $1,200,000. Lifetime Record: GSW-US, 23-8-5-5, $1,827,580. *Full to Big Paradise, SW, $142,175. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Lazzat (Fr), 126, g, 5, Territories (Ire)–Lastochka (GB), by Australia (GB). (£2,250,000 RNA HRA '24 GOFLON). O-Wathnan Racing; B-SAS Sumbe; T-Jerome Reynier; J-James Doyle; $400,000.
3–Comanche Brave (Ire), 126, c, 4, Wootton Bassett (GB)–Ishvana (Ire), by Holy Roman Emperor (Ire). O-Muhaideb Abdullah A Almugaideb; B-Whisperview Trading Ltd; T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Ryan Moore; $200,000.
Margins: NK, 3/4, 1HF.
Also Ran: Time To Dazzle, Panja Tower (Jpn), Fortune Time (Jpn), Annaf (Ire), Zefzaf, Marvelman (Ire), Love De Vega (Ire), Geography (Ger), Zio Jo, Shin Forever. Click for the JCSA chart (R6) and VIDEO (SC 9).
#9 REEF RUNNER ($21.10) caught favored Lazzat in the $2,000,000 1351 Turf Sprint (G2). The American 🇺🇸 gelding by The Big Beast was piloted by @IradOrtiz for trainer @fawkesracinginc. pic.twitter.com/X49Kq7OECK
— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) February 14, 2026
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