DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- It's Saudi Cup weekend, with some really good American horses racing in Riyadh against some of the world's best while others clash at home.
Oddly, while the 2025 Saudi Cup winner, Forever Young, returns to King Abdulaziz Racecourse seeking a repeat, the horse who beat him in last year's Dubai World Cup, Hit Show, is in New Orleans to contest the Grade III Mineshaft Stakes at Fair Grounds.
Included in the weekend's festivities are Kentucky Derby preps in both Saudi Arabia and New Orleans, where Ramadan and Lent both start this week. So let's enjoy some fast horses before the fasting starts.
The Saudi Cup
His rivals in Saturday's $20 million Group 1 Saudi Cup look at the foibles of Forever Young, the star Japanese colt who won the 2024 Saudi Derby and the 2025 Cup and was last seen winning the Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 1. Most of the competition is saying things like, "Well, if Forever Young doesn't bring his best ...."
