The winners of two races in the U.S. in January and two in Japan in December will be guaranteed spots in three of the races on the $30.5 million Saudi Cup card in February, the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA) has announced.
The highest profile of the four contests is the $3m G1 Pegasus World Cup Dirt (1800m) at Gulfstream Park in Florida on January 23, which once again offers its winner a confirmed place in the $20m Saudi Cup.
In 2020 the Pegasus top spot was taken by Saudi owner Prince Faisal Bin Khalid Al Saud’s Mucho Gusto, trained by U.S. Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. A popular competitor among the home crowds at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh during Saudi Cup week a month later, Mucho Gusto finished fourth in the big race under Irad Ortiz, earning $1.5m for connections.
This time though the G1 $1m Pegasus World Cup Turf (1900m) on the same day has been added as a qualifying race - for the $1m middle-distance turf handicap (2100m) on Saudi Cup day.
Ongoing alliance
In 2020 this was the first turf race to be staged in Saudi history, taking place on the new purpose-built grass track. Run as a conditions race last time rather than a handicap, it was won by Port Lions, trained in Bahrain by Fawzi Nass and ridden by Dutchman Adrie de Vries, who beat the Japanese mare Deirdre by a head.
Tom Ryan, the JCSA’s Director of Strategy and International Racing, said, “The Pegasus races have consistently attracted the best horses in the USA since they were established in 2017 and this is exactly the calibre of runner we want to continue to welcome to Riyadh for Saudi Cup on both the dirt and turf tracks.
“Nurturing an ongoing alliance between the Saudi Cup and established races with global followings such as the Pegasus World Cup and Pegasus World Cup Turf is key to our continued growth and development on the international racing stage.”
Craig Fravel, CEO of Racing Operations at The Stronach Group, the company behind the Pegasus, said, “The Stronach Group is delighted ... Races like the Pegasus World Cup and Saudi Cup encourage international competition and promote our sport to fans across the globe.”
‘Exciting news’
The JCSA has also worked with the Japan Racing Association (JRA) to establish the G1 $1.96m Champions Cup over 1800m on dirt at Chukyo on December 6 as a second qualifying race for the Saudi Cup.
In addition, the 1200m G3 Capella Stakes, on December 13 at Nakayama, which carries a purse of $703,000, has been announced as a qualifying race for the $1.5m Riyadh Dirt Sprint over the same distance on Saudi Cup day.
Hideyuki Mori, who trained Full Flat to win the 2020 Saudi Derby on Saudi Cup Day, said, “It is exciting news to hear that the Champions Cup and Capella Stakes are appointed as qualifying races for the Saudi Cup and the Riyadh Sprint,” he said. “It is the tendency that the rating of Japanese dirt horses are lower than turf horses and therefore we need these kind of races in Japan.”
He added, “I have just decided to withdraw Matera Sky from Breeders’ Cup to save him for the Riyadh Sprint and look forward to visiting Saudi again in February.”
Ryan said, “We are very excited to be able to announce these two high-quality Japanese races as providing a guaranteed place to the Saudi Cup starting gate and the Riyadh Dirt Sprint respectively.
Established route
“The first two finishers in the 2019 Champions Cup, Chrysoberyl and Gold Dream, came to Saudi Cup in 2020, proving an already established route for top-class runners between the two races and the two jurisdictions.
“We are keen to encourage more international runners across all our races, not just the marquee Saudi Cup event, and so feel our association with this strong sprint in Japan is an important step for us as we build on the successes of year one.”
Adding to the international flavour across Saudi Cup weekend is the introduction of the $500,000 Saudi International Handicap, a race for horses from Part II and Part III racing countries as designated by the IFHA’s Blue Book.
The handicap will be held on Friday, February 19, the day before Saudi Cup day, for horses rated 85-110.
“We are keen to provide as much interest and excitement across Saudi Cup weekend as possible for all our connections and also racefans,” said Ryan. “We had a good start in year one, but we will continue looking at ways to evolve our racedays and support worldwide horseracing. With the Saudi International Handicap we wanted to offer a global stage to horses and connections that may not normally have this access, backed up by attractive prize money.”
The second renewal of Saudi Cup weekend will take place on Friday February 19 and Saturday February 20 2021 and the JCSA will announce any decisions regarding access to the event relating to Covid-19 restrictions at the earliest possible stage.