Epic Saudi Cup night awaits Forever Young
NO HORSE has won two Saudi Cups and no horse has won three times at The Saudi Cup meeting.
Step forward, FOREVER YOUNG.
You won’t rich get backing him at 4/6 for the $20 million showpiece on Saturday (5.40pm) in Riyadh, but with the World Pool in action you could mix him into some exotics.
So, who’ll be chasing home Japan’s Breeders’ Cup Classic-winning poster boy this year?
Nysos appears to be Bob Baffert’s number one challenger and that alone makes him an obvious contender.
He’s a Grade One winner from the Breeders’ Cup and has won seven of his eight career starts, with the only blemish a second on a sloppy surface over seven furlongs.
He’s fully entitled to his position as clear second favourite, particularly with the scope for further improvement, but there’s a nagging doubt that he might not get the trip.
King Abdulaziz Racetrack’s one-turn nine-furlong trip on the dirt is pretty demanding, particularly on a very warm day when the surface can ride quite deep, and he might just curl up late in the day.
It’s actually Baffert’s other horse, NEVADA BEACH, who might get overlooked in the betting, currently around 11/1.
He lost out to stablemate Nysos in a head-bob at Santa Anita last time out in a race that turned into a sprint.
You can also put a line through his run in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, where he got no trip around the bend and was looked after by jockey Mike Smith for much of the home straight.
Riyadh is a very fair, galloping track and he could be seen to better effect.
BISHOPS BAY, who was purchased for $1.3 million by Saudi royals earlier in the year, has shown his liking for a one-turn mile and it looks as though the step up to nine furlongs will suit him.
He stayed on all the way to the line to get up late in the Cigar Mile and might be seen passing rivals in the final furlong to fill the placings.
Rolling those three into a World Pool Quinella – a prediction of the first two home in any order – will hopefully see you get the right pair past the wire.
There is a second Group One on this year’s card with the Neom Turf Cup (4.10pm) being promoted to a top-level contest for 2026.
It’s an open race and another that presents an opportunity to land a World Pool Quinella.
SHIN EMPEROR was a decisive winner of this in 2025, and is likely to be primed for a repeat for trainer Yoshito Yahagi.
He’s a must to include in the Quinella, but he does face a stronger field than last year, and the Karl Burke-trained ROYAL CHAMPION looks a strong contender.
The eight-year-old gelding stepped forward markedly in 2025 after joining the Burke yard.
He was an impressive winner over this trip in a Group Two at York, and then finished a good third in the Group One Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown.
He showed no concerns with travelling to the Middle East when winning the Bahrain International Trophy most recently, staying on well to run down GALEN at the finish.
He’s one I’ll be supporting on a Win and Place line, and I’ll include him along with Galen in our Quinella.
EPIC POET is out to go one better than last year in the Red Sea Turf (4:50pm).
To say he would have won with a clear run last year is a little presumptuous, but he did very well to finish a clear second given the tricky course he had to chart.
If all the gaps open up for him at the right time he might get his day in the sun.
POINTERS
Royal Champion (Win and Place) 4.10pm Riyadh
Royal Champion, Shin Emperor, Galen (Quinella) 4.10pm Riyadh
Epic Poet (Win and Place) 4.50pm Riyadh
Forever Young, Nevada Beach, Bishops Bay (Quinella) 5.40pm Riyadh