Call The Wind is on course to defend his crown in the $2.5million Long Distance Turf Handicap at the Saudi Cup meeting later this month.
The French raider, ridden by Olivier Peslier, was a cosy two-and-a-half-length winner of the 3000-metre contest 12 months ago when beating Mekong and Prince Of Arran. Subsequent Melbourne Cup hero Twilight Payment was back in seventh.
It proved to be the start of a profitable year for the 7-year-old son of Frankel as he went on to win two Group races over 3000m at Deauville later in the season.
Call The Wind’s trainer, Freddy Head, is looking forward to a return to the King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh for the two-day Saudi Cup meeting. “The horse is in very good form,” he said. “He’s wintered well and everything is fine with him at the moment.
“He won nicely last year and I was very pleased with him. He’s got a bit more weight this time and I’ve not seen which other horses he is likely to be up against, but I think we have a good chance of winning.
“He liked the track so everything is in order. The reception we got in Saudi Arabia was very good and we had everything we could have wanted. I’m really looking forward to him running there again.”
The Long Distance Handicap will be run on Saturday, February 20, taking place on the same day as the $20million Saudi Cup, the world’s most valuable race.
The meeting will kick off on Friday, February 19 ,with an eight-race card featuring the International Jockeys’ Challenge with some of the world’s best male and female riders taking part.