Senor Buscador (blue silks), shown winning the $20 million Saudi Cup in 2024, is entered for a return try in the Feb. 22 renewal at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh. Photo by Mathea Kelley, courtesy of the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia
Jan. 13 (UPI) — When the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia announced plans for a $20 million race on the dirt at King Abdulaziz Racecourse, trainer Bob Baffert was asked if he thought Americans would be willing to send their best horses to a spot then relatively unfamiliar on the world scene.
“If they put up $20 million, they’ll get good horses in the gate,” said Baffert, a veteran of top-level international campaigns.
He was right from the very first, as excellent horses from around the world showed up for the initial Saudi Cup program in 2020. And with the infrastructure demonstrated, races and purses upgraded and hospitality second to none, the quality of the runners has only improved.
This year’s Saudi Cup, on Feb. 22, promises to blow the roof off.
How about a field for the big race that could include last year’s winner, Senor Buscador; last year’s Group 1 Dubai World Cup winner, Laurel River; November’s Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, Sierra Leone; and Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint winner Soul of an Angel?
Sierra Leone again could face the rivals who joined with him in the dramatic 2024 Kentucky Derby finish — winner Mystik Dan and third-place finisher Forever Young, representing Japan.
Forever Young also won the 2024 Saudi Derby and UAE Derby before a rough trip down the stretch might have cost him victory in the Run for the Roses. In the Saudi race, he just did catch pacesetting Book’em Danno, who is entered to return to Riyadh in the $2 million Group 2 Riyadh Dirt Sprint.
Reigning Japanese Derby winner Danon Decile also is among the Saudi Cup entries, as is five-time Argentine Group 1 winner El Kodigo.
There’s a chance they all could be chasing one of the world’s top-rated horses, Romantic Warrior, already a multiple Group 1 winner in his home base in Hong Kong as well as in Australia and Japan.
The gelding is set for a warm-up on the Meydan Racecourse turf in the Group 1 Jebel Hatta in Dubai on Jan. 25, and then would be trying dirt for the first time in Saudi Arabia.
“Me and the owners know he’s a very talented horse and we believe he will handle it,” Shum said during a mid-December visit to Riyadh. “We don’t know for sure it he’ll handle it. But I hope so.”
The two-day Saudi Cup meeting also includes races for Purebred Arabians and for horses from jurisdictions lower down the international ratings. The first day features a jockey competition structured to feature female riders from around the world.
There are 1,123 total entries from 21 countries, including 81 individual Group 1 winners. Purses total $38.1 million.
When Baffert predicted the talent would follow the money, he included himself and his clients in that forecast. He has been represented in all five previous runnings of the Saudi Cup but, ironically, has yet to win the big check in a series of disappointments.
Mucho Gusto finished fourth in the inaugural Saudi Cup, but was promoted to third when Maximum Security eventually was disqualified from his first-place finish. Charlatan was second to Mishriff in 2021, his only loss in four career starts.
Baffert then sent out Country Grammer to finish second in both 2022 and 2023. In 2022, that effort followed a second in the Grade I Pacific Classic, 19 1/4 lengths behind Flightline. In 2023, Country Grammer stayed in the desert and won the Dubai World Cup.
In 2024, National Treasure won the Grade I Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park, earning the Baffert charge a spot in the Saudi Cup, where he reported fourth.
This time around, Baffert has nominated only Imagination and Mirahmadi and the former is cross-entered in the Riyadh Dirt Sprint. He holds four entries in the Group 2 Saudi Derby, including the No. 3 and No. 4 on the “Road to the Kentucky Derby, Gaming and Getaway Car.
There is, of course, no guarantee of which horses will go to the post Feb. 22. But HRH Prince Bandar Bin Khaled Alfaisal, chairman of the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, emphasized the global support for the program is key.
“Horse racing thrives on international competition and we believe that The Saudi Cup is the perfect event to showcase the best of global racing,” Prince Bandar said. “The Saudi Cup itself is the pinnacle of our racing season and in a few short years has become a truly global race.
“This year’s renewal looks perhaps the strongest yet.”
Photo: Gulfstream Park / Ryan Thompson Lightning Tones, a 5-year-old gelding trained by Carlos Narvaez, got the highest speed figures
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