Two-horse race for the Crown Prince Cup
Defending champion My Frankel out to turn tables on last-start nemesis Wait To Excel
The Saudi racing season keeps getting through its gears with the 1 million riyal (S$358,000) Listed Crown Prince Cup (2,400m) at Riyadh shaping up as a thriller on Dec 14.
As is the recurring intrigue for such thoroughbred events in the Kingdom, breeding lines all the way from Europe and the US will be pitted against each other while the locally bred steeds will do battle in the other Crown Prince race, also run over 2,400m on dirt, but which is classified as a domestic Group 1.
Given the Saudi form is still relatively unexposed to most parts of the wagering world, finding a winner can be a tricky exercise.
But the field can safely be narrowed down to two horses who finished 1-2 at their last encounter in an Open race over 2,000m on dirt on Nov 16, the winner Wait To Excel and runner-up My Frankel.
Some may debate that it was daylight that ran second, though.
An English-bred five-year-old by Postponed, Wait To Excel drubbed My Frankel, also an English-bred but two years older, and whose name is a giveaway of his sire, by 9½ lengths.
From the way he broke away from the rest of the field and tore them apart, not many will dare predict an order reversal at their rematch.
However, on closer look, the tables can be turned. What could potentially be the leveller is essentially the extra 400m the two leading hopes face in the Crown Prince Cup.
My Frankel is actually the Crown Prince Cup defending champion (with top UK hoop James Doyle up in 2023) and will be thriving over the 2,400m, a trip he won twice over for relatively new Saudi trainer Jimmy Jerkens, and also twice in UK where he was trained by the soon-to-retire Sir Michael Stoute.
Granted, the wide beaten margin does not plead in his favour, but the way he never gave up and kept digging to the line suggests he will still have some petrol left in the tank over the last furlong of Saturday’s contest.
He just has that pure grit that allows him to stay all day.
On the other hand, Wait To Excel has scored mostly between 1,800m and 2,000m at his new home, even if he does boast a second place over 12 furlongs at Thirsk in his previous English career when he was prepared by James Tate.
The fact remains that Prince Faisal bin Khaled’s entire, who is now trained by Thamer Aldaihani, is an absolute thriller to watch.
He was so impressive at the last of his five Saudi wins that he should put on an absolute spectacle this weekend, with regular partner Muhammad Aldaham again retained.
My Frankel is expected to be competitive, and the fact that Jerkens has booked a Brazilian top gun in former English champion jockey Silvestre de Sousa is a solid pointer to stable confidence.
“My Frankel will be back,” said Jerkens to the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia website.
“We had him going pretty serious in Ta’if but he ended up having some foot trouble.
“We lost two weeks with him and had to wait for him to grow some foot. He’s doing good now.”
Besides My Frankel, the American trainer is also counting on his other horses like Ancestral Land, Finest Sound and Tchaikovsky to build on the momentum he started in his first Saudi season in 2023 when he saddled 18 winners.
So far, Jerkens cannot complain as he has already equalled his 2023 score, seven of which came from 47 starters at Saudi’s summer racecourse in Ta’if and 11 from Riyadh.
“It’s always the aim to beat last season’s total and keep doing better,” he said.
“It’s a long meet, though, and I’m sure it will be up and down like it always is.”
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now