It feels as if the Saudi Cup meeting has really come of age, despite this being only its third year.
That might be due to the new Grade 1 status of the feature race, or maybe because the world of horse racing has converged on Riyadh. It’s a cliche, but everyone who’s anyone seems to be there.
Not to say that the meeting has had it easy so far. It’s had to weather two years of COVID-19 for a start. In 2020, special visas were needed to access the country which had closed its borders and then in 2021 the meeting took place behind closed doors and in wet and cold conditions.
Racing’s biggest names have all been eyeing the big bucks, and the meeting has attracted the best of the best, bringing together horses from the US, Japan, Europe and elsewhere in the Middle East.
And then there’s Mishriff, who certainly doesn’t get the credit he deserves. This horse is a freak. Second in the Saudi Derby in 2020, he then went on a three-race winning streak which included the French Derby. Back at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in 2021, he beat two of the best American dirt horses in the world, Knicks Go and Charlatan, as he galloped to victory in the $20 million race in the hands of young rider David Egan.
Not done there, he traveled back home to Britain, returning two weeks after that to Dubai, where he won the G1 Longines Sheema Classic, over a completely different distance and surface to his Saudi win. That was unparalleled, but John and Thady Gosden’s charge still wasn’t finished and he scooped one of the biggest prizes in the UK when winning York’s G1 Juddmonte International in August. That’s a treble that may never be repeated again.
Mishriff could well repeat the Saudi win this year, although stall 14 will give Egan a sleepless night or two. There’s an argument that the Americans — led by Grade 1 winner Art Collector and de facto Kentucky Derby winner Mandaloun — aren’t quite as strong as last year, and he could get a similar stalking trip around. He gets my tentative nod to become the richest racehorse ever with another win here.
While I’m at it, here are a few more tips for the world’s richest race meeting. The Japanese have won both editions of the Saudi Derby and their Consigliere will be hard to beat in that one, while Charlie Appleby can take the Red Sea Turf Handicap with recent Meydan winner Siskany and should go close in the 1351 Sprint with Naval Crown, although Bill Mott’s Casa Creed might also be hard to catch.
The Neom Turf Cup should go to Japan’s Authority, while the UAE can take the Riyadh Dirt Sprint with Switzerland, who has had this race as a major target since finishing fourth in it behind the re-opposing Copano Kicking last year.
It’s a great meeting and I can’t wait to board the plane to Riyadh. Mainly to see Mishriff.