Dubai Future leads home stablemate Passion And Glory in the Bahrain International Trophy (Megan Rose Photography)
~ The Brits Bring It Against The Local Contingent
By Amber Joyce
Three different nations have been successful in capturing the $USD1.5M Neom Turf Cup (G3) but only Bahrain will return this year to try again.
Allan Smith trains the lone Bahraini horse, two-time winner of the H.H.Sh. Faisal Bin Rashid Al Khalifa Cup (local G1), Byline (GB). The six-year-old gelding boasts a stellar record in Bahrain since moving from the UK; he has won seven of 10 starts there and has been out of the money only twice. This will be his first venture to Saudi Arabia.
Sending out a slew of runners in previous editions but only to come up empty is Saudi Arabia. This year they hope to turn the tables with one of four entries. Leading the charge is Moutaib Almulawah’s Castle (IRE), who looks to make it two wins from three starts in Riyadh. A winner of two races in France before moving here, Castle immediately took to the King Abdulaziz turf course, capturing the Middle Distance Turf Qualifier on Jan. 27.
Watch Castle (post position #8) triumph in the Middle Distance Turf Qualifier:
Naif Almandeel sends out Eagle’s Flight (IRE), winner of three races in Ireland. More accomplished than Eagle’s Flight is G3 winner Flying Visit (IRE) for Mohammed Alharabi. Flying Visit finished sixth in the Neom Turf Cup last year after winning the Middle Distance Turf Qualifier. He has won once since then, romping by 7 ½ lengths in an open turf race Jan. 21.
Not to be confused with the famous Standardbred of the same name, Peter The Great (GB) rounds out the quartet of Saudi Arabian contenders. Making his second start in the Middle East for trainer Fawaz Alghreeban, this former John & Thady Gosden trainee won three times in England before moving to this part of the globe.
Coming over from Peter The Great’s old stomping grounds are three horses, one of which is trained by the aforementioned’s previous connections. The horse in question is Mostahdaf (IRE), a winner of three G3 events in England. He was last seen finishing last of 20 in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1) in October.
Hard-knocking Sir Busker (IRE) will look to secure his second graded stakes triumph, adding to his win in the York (G2) back in July. Seven-year-old Sir Busker has racked up six wins from 39 starts, along with 10 second-place finishes and four thirds. Some of the company he has faced in those starts include Baaeed, Space Blues, and Palace Pier, among others.
Up and coming Missed The Cut (USA) returns to the races after defeating talented Algiers by a head last out in the listed Churchill Stakes at Lingfield in November. Following his maiden score in April of last year, Missed The Cut won his next two starts and then was fifth in the Prix Guillaume d’Ornano (G2) in his first graded try. George Boughey trains this four-year-old.
Two UAE-based horses enter the fray as well, both for Saeed bin Suroor. Winner of the Bahrain International Trophy (G3) two back, Dubai Future (GB) will try to provide Godolphin with more Saudi Arabia success. Notably, that ownership won the 1351 Turf Sprint in 2021 with Space Blues. The other UAE challenger is White Moonlight (USA), also for Godolphin. White Moonlight has not seen the winner’s circle since winning her first two starts as a juvenile in 2019. Last out, she was runner-up in the Cape Verdi (G2) at Meydan.
The Neom Turf Cup will be run on the turf at a distance of 2100M (1 5/16 miles).
Likely fields for the rest of the two-day Saudi Cup racing festival can be accessed here.
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It was recently announced that the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia will partner with Equine MediRecord for this year’s Saudi Cup to ensure equine welfare protocols are followed at the event. This will help all of the trainers at this year’s event more easily keep track of all of their trainee’s needs and care.
For more on Equine MediRecord, visit www.equinemedirecord.com.
