The Saudi Cup 2026

Forever Young (left) and Romantic Warrior (right) at The Saudi Cup 2025 | Credit: Alex Evers

By Dick Powell

The US$ 20 million G1 Saudi Cup will be run for the seventh time on Saturday, February 14 at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The World’s Most Valuable Horse Race will be run on the dirt at 1 1/8 miles around one, left-handed turn.

The dirt track at King Abdulaziz Racecourse is a test of strength and the one-turn configuration does not give speedy horses any time to relax. You would think that a group one stakes race at 1 1/8 miles around one turn would be run in around 1:46 and change seconds but the track record is only 1:49.05 seconds. The track has an organic component in it to cope with the sun and heat and it makes for a testing last furlong. Riders have to save some energy and a fast-paced race will make for a chaotic finish. The good news with the track’s composition is that there is less kickback than other dirt tracks so you can sit in behind horses while saving ground and not get bothered by it too much.

There will be World Pool wagering on races three through nine on Saturday with Win, Show, Quinella, Omni, Exacta, Trifecta and Pick Three wagering. With so many international runners in all the races, the pool sizes will be enormous and diverse. As always, log onto www.hkjc.com.eng-us/index and click on “current odds” for the latest information on the liquidity from 27 jurisdictions. You can get an early sense of where the money is going and also check the exacta payouts. I like to check the current odds the morning of the races.

Defending champion and G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Forever Young will be back and not only is he the highest rated dirt horse in the world but loves this track. He won the G3 Saudi Derby two years ago and beat Romantic Warrior last year in one of the most epic races ever run anywhere.  At the age of five, he is still lightly raced and rider Ryusei Sakai uses his horse’s natural speed to gain the best position. The only way I can see him getting beat is running into traffic after a poor start. Trainer Yoshito Yahagi also won the 2023 Saudi Cup with Panthalassa.

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has won just about every big race on the dirt including four wins in the G1 Dubai World Cup but has yet to win the Saudi Cup even though the race seems tailored for him. This year, he sends over Nysos, winner of the G1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, and Nevada Beach, winner of the G1 Goodwood Stakes at this distance. They both need to be carefully ridden to have enough left for the finish. Brad Cox has Bishops Bay, a six-year-old horse that won the G1 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct in December, and Ken McPeek sends out Rattle N Roll who won the G3 Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques here before running fifth behind Forever Young in last year’s renewal.

With Forever Young being a prohibitive betting favorite, the value in the race might be in the exacta pool. You don’t have to be the second-best horse to run second. Rattle N Roll will be far back early but figures to be passing horses in the stretch. If there is any kind of pace, it might be enough to get second and complete a decent exacta.