The $1.5 million Saudi Derby (G3), a new addition to the Churchill Downs stable of Road to the Kentucky Derby competitions, drew a field chock full of Japanese and American 3-year-olds looking for a back door to the Run for the Roses.
And why not? After all, Forever Young took the Middle Eastern road to the 2024 Kentucky Derby (G1), where he finished third in that dramatic three-way photo finish behind Mystik Dan and Sierra Leone .
The catch is, the Saudi race offers the winner only 30 points on the Euro/Mideast Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard. The UAE Derby (G2) March 28 in Dubai winds up the series and serves up 100 points, making it a virtual "win and you're in" for Louisville, Ky.
Because of the spacing, however, the 1-mile Saudi Derby at King Abdulaziz Racecourse provides a natural lead-in to the Dubai race and the likes of Doug O'Neill, Brad Cox, Steve Asmussen, and Kenny McPeek will load promising runners into the gate Feb. 14.
Cox brings My World, with Irad Ortiz Jr. booked. A son of Essential Quality , My World rides a three-race win streak, all at Aqueduct Racetrack, including the Nashua Stakes in November and the Jerome Stakes Jan. 3.
"He's working well, he's fit, and he's ready," Cox said. "He's proven at the distance, which is key, and I think he likes the one turn. I'm not scared to run him two turns but this is a nice race with a nice purse. I also think the timing works really well off his last run. Saying all that, it just makes a lot of sense, so here we are."
He also pointed out the mid-February date leaves open the option of returning to the United States in time for one of the big Derby preps at home.
"Just by traveling to the Middle East gives us options and doesn't mean we are off the Derby trail at all," Cox said.
Asmussen is represented by Obliteration and Joel Rosario will take the reins. The Violence colt, a graded winner on dirt and stakes-placed on turf, finished fourth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1T) Oct. 31, then won the Renaissance Stakes on the Oaklawn Park dirt to open his 3-year-old campaign.
O'Neill has Acknowledgemeplz and Flavien Prat set to ride. The Bucchero ridgling has only a maiden win from four starts but finished finished fourth in the Dec. 13 Los Alamitos Futurity (G2) and third in the Jan. 10 San Vicente Stakes (G2).
"I've done all sorts of things to try to get him to get into a more relaxed rhythm," O'Neill said. "We haven't seen the results yet to try to go two turns with him again, but we see him improving. Other than that, he doesn't seem like an accelerator-stuck kind of horse. He has multiple gears and the one-turn mile suits him."
McPeek has Very Connected and breaks the jockey mold with local rider Adel Alfouraidi. The son of Connect is short on wins but finished third in the Street Sense Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs in October and fourth in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) Nov. 29.
Of the jockey decision, McPeek said, "I wasn't sure which jockeys would be coming from the U.S. and this way I don't have a worry about a jockey getting off a long flight and traveling internationally. I didn't know if it was best to use a rider who knows the track and the conformation there, or use a rider who knows the horse, and I decided to find a local rider ... Adel is the leading rider there and has been champion jockey."
The 14-horse field also has five entries from Japan. Most arrive in Riyadh with modest credentials with Satono Voyage a notable exception.
For one thing, the colt was sired by Into Mischief , out of the Drosselmeyer mare Jolie Olimpica. For another, he's won three straight races in Japan, including the Cattleya Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse the day before the Japan Cup (G1T).
The Cattleya is the first leg of the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby and the win there has him poised in third position on that leaderboard.
Among the others, Al Haram won the local Two Thousand Guineas to qualify for the Derby; Cielo Di Roma comes from France with two wins in 2025; and Shayem wound up 2025 with a pair of wins in England.
