Tag: Saudi Cup

Wigoberto Ramos celebrates a 99/1 upset aboard Emblem Road in the Saudi Cup. He may follow Americans Country Grammer and Midnight Bourbon to the Dubai World Cup in March. (Image: Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia/Mathea Kelley

Dubai the Next Destination for Country Grammer, Midnight Bourbon

It’s off to Dubai for Country Grammer and Midnight Bourbon, back to the US for Mandaloun and Art Collector and a roving question mark for Emblem Road and Mishriff. This is the post-Saudi Cup itinerary for several of the principals of the third edition of the world’s richest horse race, according to […]

Mandaloun, seen here holding off rival Midnight Bourbon to win January's Louisiana Stakes at Fair Grounds, is the 5/2 favorite to win the third running of the Group 1 Saudi Cup, the world's richest race. (Image: Hodges Photography/Amanda Hodges Weir)

Horseplayers Get Plenty of Familiarity In This Year’s Saudi Cup

When handicapping the Saudi Cup, your typical first inclination is to lock in on the familiar. After all, it’s a race offering the unfamiliar in an unfamiliar-to-North American-bettors site. Two years ago, in the first iteration of the $20 million race, it was the familiar site of Maximum Security crossing […]

After winning last year's Saudi Cup, Mishriff can set a career earnings record with a victory in Saturday's Group 1 $20 million race. (Image: Coady Photography)

Mishriff Returns to Saudi Cup With Eyes On a Monster Prize

Should Mishriff conquer his outside post, the formidable presence of Mandaloun and the 12 other rivals stalking shares of the $20 million Saudi Cup purse, he’ll become the highest earning horse in Thoroughbred racing history. Read that sentence back. Should Mishriff defend his Saudi Cup title, the 5-year-old Irish-bred, British-trained […]

Saudi Arabia's King Abdulaziz Racetrack and the Saudi Cup open this week's Cross Country Pick 5. (Image: Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia/Neville Hopwood)

Saudi Cup Opens This Week’s International Cross Country Pick 5

The $20 million Saudi Cup, a.k.a. the world’s richest race, opens this week’s opportunity for horseplayers to get rich via the New York Racing Association’s Cross Country Pick 5. This week’s five-race sequence takes on a cross-global flavor. It features races from the home of the Saudi Cup — King Abdulaziz Racetrack […]

Midnight Bourbon hasn't won a race in 13 months. But trainer Steve Asmussen thinks the 4-year-old Tiznow colt is due for a breakout year. (Image: Coady Photography)

Hard-Luck Midnight Bourbon Tries for Redemption Again at Saudi Cup

Steve Asmussen hasn’t missed a beat when it comes to talking up Midnight Bourbon to anyone who will listen. And given what the heretofore snakebit colt has done to bettors, avid listeners are becoming harder and harder to find. “The only time he’s missed the break in his life was […]

Mandaloun, who finished second to Medina Spirit in the Kentucky Derby, is is unlikely to race the remainder of the year after being diagnosed with a sore hind foot. (Image: Alton Strupp/Courier Journal)

Sore Foot Grounds Stellar Sophomore Mandaloun for Remainder of Year

Asterisk-wearing Kentucky Derby runner-up and Haskell Stakes winner Mandaloun will miss the remainder of the 2021 season, due to a sore hindfoot. The Daily Racing Form first reported the news. It quoted Juddmonte Farms racing manager Garrett O’Rourke, who said Mandaloun’s X-rays came back negative for any major damage. He […]

Mishriff, seen here winning the Sheema Dubai Classic in March, is the 13/8 favorite in Saturday's Group 1 Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park. (Image: Mathea Kelly/Dubai Jockey Club)

Healthy, Wealthy Mishriff Returns as Eclipse Stakes Favorite

Boasting a healthier bankroll than he did opening the year, Mishriff returns from his post-Saudi Cup, post-Dubai respite on Saturday to headline a field of seven in the Group 1 Eclipse at Sandown Park in England. The top-ranked horse in the world, according to the Longines rankings, Mishriff comes into […]

In his brief, five-race career, Charlatan was one of the most imposing colts to enter a starting gate. He retired Thursday after winning four of his five career races. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Charlatan Retired to Stud After Meteoric and Stellar Career

Standout colt Charlatan, who won every race but his last one, retired from racing Thursday, heading for stud duty at Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm in Paris, KY. That comes a little over a month after the 4-year-old went on the shelf after a Churchill Downs workout. That last workout came […]

Charlatan illustrated his breakaway speed in last December's Grade 1 Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita Park. He came out of a bullet workout with a setback that shelves the 4-year-old colt indefinitely. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Charlatan Goes Back on the Shelf With Undisclosed Setback

Charlatan, the dynamic Bob Baffert trainee and multiple Grade 1 winner, suffered an undisclosed setback during a recent workout and will be sidelined indefinitely. The Daily Racing Form reported the news Thursday. They quoted a text from Sol Kumin, one of Charlatan’s owners in the multi-group consortium that owns the […]

Knicks Go opened his 5-year-old campaign winning the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park. He returns to action three months after a fourth-place Saudi Cup finish in the May 31 Steve Sexton Mile at Lone Star Park. (Image: Coglianese Photos)

Knicks Go Returns Off the Main Track — at Texas’ Lone Star Park

Standout 5-year-old horse Knicks Go, last seen finishing fourth in the Saudi Cup on Feb. 20, will return in an unlikely spot on May 31 – the Grade 3 Steve Sexton Mile at Lone Star Park. Trainer Brad Cox announced Knicks Go’s next go-moment during a National Thoroughbred Racing Association […]

This tongue-wagging victory at 17/1 in the Saudi Cup vaulted Mishriff to the No. 1 spot in the first 2021 Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings. (Image: Douglas DeFelice/Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia)

Mishriff Takes Top Spot in Initial 2021 Longines Rankings

Led by Charlatan, American Thoroughbreds took three of the top eight spots, but it was Ireland’s Mishriff who seized the top spot in the 2021 first edition of Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings. The John Gosden-trained 4-year-old earned a 122 rating from the racing officials and handicappers compiling the rankings […]

Mishriff and David Egan pulled off a stand-up rally against Mike Smith and Charlatan to win the $20 million Saudi Cup. Charlatan's trainer, Bob Baffert, was pleased with his runner-up finish. (Image: Andrew Parker/Grosskick Racing)

Charlatan Comes Out of Gutsy Saudi Cup Finish Ready for More

The day after Charlatan finished a game, but beaten, second to England’s Mishriff in the $20 million Saudi Cup, his trainer Bob Baffert gushed about what transpired on the other end of the world. “He ran a big race,” Baffert told Santa Anita Park’s Ed Golden on Sunday morning. “He […]

Prince Bandar bin Khalid Al Faisal, the chairman of the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, said in a Saturday TV interview he hopes the final dispersal of the 2020 purse will happen soon. (Image: Doug De Felice/Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia)

Saudi Cup Official Said 2020 First-Prize Payout Near Resolution

In a short television interview before Saturday’s Saudi Cup, Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia Chairman Prince Bandar bin Khalid Al Faisal said the final $10 million purse distribution for the 2020 Saudi Cup should come within six weeks. Prince Bandar addressed the elephant in the room regarding the world’s richest […]

Trainer Bob Baffert called Charlatan's Malibu Stakes win 'pure brilliance.' He would take more of that from his 9/5 favorite in Saturday's $20 million Saudi Cup. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Let’s Cut to the Saudi Cup Chase: It’s Charlatan vs. Knicks Go

The best-case scenario for the connections of every Saudi Cup horse not named Knicks Go or Charlatan is easy to comprehend, if not easy to realize. It goes something like this. Leaving from Post 5, Joel Rosario sends Knicks Go out like a shot. From Post 9, Mike Smith and […]

Umberto Rispoli is one of the top riders in North America. The Italian jockey won't ride in the Saudi Cup due to changing COVID-19 testing protocols. (Image: Hong Kong Jockey Club)

New COVID Protocols Scratch Saudi Cup Jockeys Rispoli, Velazquez

Star jockeys Umberto Rispoli and John Velazquez lost their mounts for Saturday’s $20 million Saudi Cup after Saudi race organizers abruptly changed their COVID-19 testing protocols. That takes Rispoli off Max Player and removes Velazquez from Tacitus. Rispoli had three mounts on the Saudi Cup card, including Cowan in the […]

Knicks Go just likes to go, as he did during this Thursday workout before Saturday's $20 million Saudi Cup. The 5-year-old standout nearly retired last year. (Image: Coady Photography/VidHorse)

Knicks Go, Brad Cox Tell the Story of a Horse’s Renaissance

Every time Brad Cox looks at his first Eclipse Award as 2020’s Champion Trainer, he should give thanks to Knicks Go. For if there was ever an example of how important a trainer’s impact is on an individual horse, the story of Knicks Go is Exhibit A. And if there […]

The post positions are set for Saturday's Saudi Cup. The five American horses drew posts ranging from 4 to 9. (Image: Saudi Cup Twitter/@thesaudicup)

Americans Take Center Post Stages at Saudi Cup Post Draw

Between Posts 4 and 9 sit the five United States horses running in Saturday’s $20 million Saudi Cup. Most spectators’ eyes will likely gravitate to Posts 5 and 9, where Knicks Go and Charlatan start, respectively. Post positions were drawn Wednesday for the Saudi Cup. There are 14 horses representing […]

Mystic Guide comes into this weekend's Grade 3 Razorback Handicap with six in-the-money finishes. That includes his victory here in last summer's JIm Dandy Stakes at Saratoga. (Image: Coglianese Photo)

Weekend Stakes Span the Globe From Saudi Arabia to California

Looking at this weekend’s notable stakes races takes the eye halfway around the world to the $20 million Saudi Cup. Another look also takes the eye back to three races postponed from last weekend to this weekend – the Southwest Stakes, the Bayakoa Stakes, and the Razorback Handicap at Oaklawn […]

Knicks Go brings a four-race winning streak into the $20 million Saudi Cup. (Image: Coady Photography/Keeneland)

Saudi Cup Connections Exempt from COVID Ban; Knicks Go a Go

As the Saudi Cup field takes shape, the Saudi Arabian government announced connections for the $20 million race participants will be exempt from the country’s ban on entering Saudi Arabia. Citing COVID-19 concerns, the country banned entry to residents of 20 nations, including the United States and the United Kingdom. […]

Knicks Go (right) illustrated why he is one of 2021's star racing attractions, blazing past his rivals to win the $3 million Pegasus World Cup. (Image: Associated Press)

Knicks Go Dunks on His Rivals Again, Wins Pegasus Gate-to-Wire

Enjoy Knicks Go while you can. Savor every start of his 5-year-old campaign, while you understand you’re watching horseracing’s star attraction of 2021. Knicks Go brought this lesson home in gate-to-wire fashion, winning the $3 million Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park on Saturday afternoon. It’s certainly understandable if Knicks […]