Mishriff chasing back-to-back wins in $20m Saudi Cup

It’s February, and $20m Saudi Cup is giving us another world championship, with the 2021 hero Mishriff and jockey David Egan looking for a 12-month $19m pay packet.

With $9.9m to the victor from a total $20m prizemoney, Mishriff and David Egan were brilliant in defeating Charlatan last year, and Sportsbet are saying they are $3.50 for Saturday.

Honoured with a 127 on the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Ranking, equal to the French classic’s St Mark’s Basilica, he is now on-top as St Mark’s Basilica has retired to Coolmore Ireland.

In achieving this high mark with victory in the Juddmonte International Stakes, Mishriff also in 2021 won the Dubai Sheema Classic, following Riyadh, having won the 2020 Prix du Jockey Club.

A 10-length juvenile winner at Nottingham over 1m1f, John and Thady Gosden have trialled him on the all-weather track at Chelmsford in readiness for Riyanh, and will start from Gate 14.

Home bred by Prince A.A. Faisal’s Nawara Stud, and by his Poule d’Essai des Poulains winner Make Believe, it’s the family of Invincible Spirit from the winning Raven’s Pass mare Contraict.

The newly installed Kentucky Derby winner Mandaloun is at $5 having last defeated Midnight Bourbon in the Louisiana Stakes by ¾ length, and will be ridden from Gate 6 by Florent Geroux.

In being awardee a 121 ranking in both the M Dirt division of 8f-9.45f based on victory in the Haskell Stakes, along with the Shared Belief Stakes for the ‘Man Of the 20s’ trainer Brad Cox.

Also ranked 121 in the I Dirt division of 9.5f-10.5 for a ‘holding’ second to Medina Spirit in the Kentucky Derby, so what WBR Ranking, if any, may he be awarded now for the Kentucky Derby.

As the World’s Best Reacehorse with a ranking of 129, Knicks Go scored a 2¾ length victory over the 3yo’s Medina Spirit, Essential Quality and Hot Rod Charlie in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Now retired to Taylor Made Farm in Kentucky, Knicks Go was rated 125 in the M Dirt for the Pegasus World Cup and Whitney Stakes, with Essential Quality on 123 and Hot Rod Charlie on 122.

Now the winner of 6 of 8 starts, Mandaloun was bred in Kentucky by owner Juddmonte Farms, and is by 3-times Champion Sire Into Mischief, from the Gr2 winning Empire Maker mare Brooch.

No world championship can be without the Japanese, and it’s the Daisuke Takayanai trained T.O. Keynes who is $7 for jockey Kohei Matsuyama having last won the Champions Cup.

In defeating Dubai World Cup second Chuwa Wizard in the Champions Cup on dirt, he also won the Teio Sho for owner Tomoya Ozasa, and is starting from Barrier 6, having won 3 of 6 starts.

Run over 1800m on Tapeta, it’s the Woodward Stakes winner Art Collector who is also at $7, Midnight Bourbon is $9 for Steve Asmussen, with Real World at $11 and $12 for Country Grammar.

Today Friday sees the International Jockey Challenge as another world championship with both seven male and female international jockeys each competing for $100,000 in prizemoney.

Spread across four races over 1200m, 1400m, 1600m and 1800m on both dirt and turf and dirt on local horses, it’s the local connections who share in the $400,000 prizemoney of each race.

Irishman Shane Foley returns to defend his crown, and challenge Eclipse Award recipient Jose Rosario, who rode Knicks Go to be World’s Best Racehorse, and finish fourth in the 2021 Saudi Cup.

There’s also Japan-based Christophe Lemaire who has Marche Lorraine in the Saudi Cup, Jim Crowley of Great Britain with Flying Visit in the Neom Turf Cup and Glen Boss ‘starring’ for Australia and Alexis Moreno from Pakistan.

With Lisa Allpress of New Zealand being the first female jockey to win in Saudi Arabia, its Hayley Turner who rides for Great Britain, Jessica Pyfer the USA, Andrea Marinhas of Argentina, Marie Velon of France, Ulrika Holmquist of Sweden, Caitlin Jones of Australia and Samantha Collett for New Zealand.