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Knicks Go for Saudi Cup Posted by: Bernard Kenny+ at 8:53am on 18/2/2021
“The great horses like him are what you wake up for every morning,” said Eclipse Award trainer Brad H Cox of Knicks Go who is $3 with Sportsbet for the $20m Saudi Cup on 20 February.
“He’s a fantastic horse and hopefully an international horse by Saturday, with everything going in the right direction. He’s carrying his weight well and I’m happy with the way he’s moving.”
In coming off wins the Pegasus World Cup and Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, winning jockey Joel Rosario will be eyeing the Bob Baffert trained Charlatan who is $2.50 favourite for jockey Mike Smith.
DUBAI: With the second running of the world’s richest horse race only days away, two of Bahrain’s leading trainers have their eyes firmly fixed on plundering the top races on Saudi Cup weekend with Fawzi Nass and Allan Smith both once again bidding to make a mark at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh.
The returning trainers will have interest across the weekend on both Saudi Cup day - Saturday Feb. 20 - and the International Jockeys Challenge the previous day.
A year ago, at the inaugural Saudi Cup, Nass made history when his Port Lions won the very first race on turf in the Kingdom, and the Bahrain native is back once again with his stable star Simsir, while Smith’s Dark Power will attempt back-to-back wins in the $1 million STC 1351 Turf Sprint on Saturday.
Sponsored by:
Jockey John Velazquez
Leading US-based rider John Velazquez is the final international jockey to be confirmed for the stc International Jockeys Challenge (IJC) on Friday, Feb. 19. The 49-year-old will take on 13 other jockeys in the IJC, before partnering Tacitus, owned by the late Prince Khalid Abdullah s Juddmonte Farms, in the $20m Saudi Cup a day later.
It won t be a first appearance at the King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh for the jockey from Puerto Rico:
“I was last in Saudi six or seven years ago and I was very impressed with the track. The dirt was nice and smooth, they did a really good job with it.
Hollie Doyle Picks Up Saudi Cup Mount On Extra Elusive Sponsored by:
Hollie Doyle and Extra Elusive winning the Group 3 Rose Of Lancaster Stakes at Haydock in August 2020
Rising star of the saddle Hollie Doyle will compete in the stc International Jockeys Challenge (IJC) on Friday, Feb. 19, before reuniting with Roger Charlton s Extra Elusive a day later in The Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Racecourse.
Doyle, who will line up alongside 13 other leading jockeys in the IJC, is hoping her recent overseas experiences will stand her in good stead:
“I m really excited to be riding in Saudi. I ve had a few international trips recently, including Hong Kong, America and Bahrain, and it s great that I m getting to go to these big meetings around the world.