A field of 14 has been entered for the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1) on Saturday at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – the world’s richest horse race. usracing.com is posting profiles of the starters.
It's no secret that purchasing top-flight North American horses to become a leading player on horse racing’s world stage has been a goal of the powerful stables in the Mideast for some time. For King Abdullah Bin a/Aziz Sons’ KAS operation, the payback began almost immediately with Power in Numbers.
Back story: Unraced at 2, the bay son of Girvin had finished second and fourth – by a considerable margin each time – before finally hitting his best stride in a gate-to-wire maiden victory on April 2, 2023, at Aqueduct Racetrack.
That win was followed by a similar front-running effort two months later in an optional claimer at Monmouth Park, after which he scored his first stakes win in the Tale of the Cat, also at Monmouth, for Klaravich Stable and trainer Chad Brown.
When put up for auction at the Fasig-Tipton Horses of Racing Age sale in July 2023, Power in Numbers was snapped up by KAS for $400,000, double what Klaravich had paid for him two years earlier.
Under the care of Ahmed Mahmoud, the colt quickly acclimated to his new surroundings, finishing second in an allowance on Nov. 2, then reeling off four straight wins, including the Saeed El Majed Cup, the Prince Naif Ben A/Aziz Cup, and most recently, the Custodian Of The Two Holy Mosques Cup on Jan. 27.
Betting advice: With Saudi’s top rider Camilo Ospina opting for Carmel Road over Power in Numbers, the decision speaks for itself – not a top contender.
Post position: 10
Odds: 30-1 (unofficial US Racing Team odds)
Jockey: Adel Alfouraidi
Trainer: Ahmed Mohammed
Owners: King Abdullah bin a/Aziz Sons
Age: 4
Career record: 10-7-2-0
Career earnings: $474,420
Last race: The Custodian Of The Two Holy Mosques Cup, Jan. 27 (1st)
Best Equibase speed figure: 96
Pedigree: Girvin-Gold Edge, by Eddington
Color: Bay
Running style: Frontrunner
Notes: Jockey Camilo Ospina, eight-time Saudi champion, chose Carmel Road over Power in Numbers in the Saudi Cup. He has ridden both, said it was a tough choice, and went with Carmel Road because he was “so impressive’’ in his last race. He then added: "But Power in Numbers will be close to the pace, and he is a very good horse. He has a lot of class and I know he is in top form.”
| PP | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | White Abarrio | Irad Ortiz, Jr | Rick Dutrow, Jr. | C2 Racing Stable LLC and La Milagrosa Stable, LLC | 3-1 |
| 2 | Isolate | Joel Rosario | Doug Watson | RRR Racing | 15-1 |
| 3 | Lemon Pop | Ryusei Sakai | Hiroyasu Tanaka | Godolphin | 15-1 |
| 4 | Senor Buscador | Junior Alvarado | Todd Fincher | Joe R. Peacock, Jr | 10-1 |
| 5 | Saudi Crown | Florent Geroux | Brad Cox | SFMQ Stables | 8-1 |
| 6 | Crown Pride | Joao Moreira | Koichi Shintani | Teruya Yoshida | 20-1 |
| 7 | National Treasure | Flavien Prat | Bob Baffert | F Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Masterson, Robert E., Stonestreet Stables LLC, Schoenfarber, Jay A., Waves Edge Capital LLC and Donovan, Catherine | 9-2 |
| 8 | Hoist the Gold | John Velazquez | Dallas Stewart | Dream Team One Racing Stable | 30-1 |
| 9 | Defunded | Luis Saez | Abdulaziz K Mishref | Pegram, Michael E., Watson, Karl and Weitman, Paul | 25-1 |
| 10 | Power in Numbers | Adel Alfouraidi | Ahmed Mohamoud | Klaravich Stables, Inc. | 30-1 |
| 11 | Ushba Tesoro | Yuga Kawada | Noboru Takagi | Ryotokuji Kenji Holdings Co. Ltd. | 10-1 |
| 12 | Meisho Hario | Suguru Hamanaka | Inao Okada | Yoshio Matsumoto | 20-1 |
| 13 | Derma Sotogake | Christophe Lemaire | Hidetaka Otonashi | Hiroyuki Asanuma | 6-1 |
| 14 | Carmel Road | Camillo Ospina | Abdullah Albadah | SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Masterson, Robert E., Stonestreet Stables LLC, Schoenfarber, Jay A., Waves Edge Capital LLC and Donovan, Catherinetd> | 25-1 |
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
