Saudi Cup night - Ron Wood's best bets on the Riyadh undercard

Full horse-by-horse coverage of the Saudi Cup can be found here. But before the big race, there’s a high-class supporting card and international racing expert Ron Wood has teamed up with The AntePoster once again to run the rule over the earlier events, coming up with three selections.

THE main action on Saudi Cup day at King Abdulaziz racecourse in Riyadh, where conditions will be fast and firm on the dirt and turf tracks respectively, begins with the Group 3 Saudi Derby at 1.20pm (GMT). This features a smart Japanese filly in Myriad Love, who has taken the same route as last year’s winner Forever Young, defeating male rivals in a local Group 1 at home on her most recent start. There’s also smart US runner Cyclone State, as well as UAE 2,000 Guineas winner Golden Vekoma, although the Meydan form looks weak this year. Plenty to consider, then, but the most tempting option is SHIN FOREVER, another Japanese contender. He has come up short in Graded company on turf, but he’s by a US Grade 1 dirt winner, so there’s the potential for him to improve for the surface switch, and he’s one of only two runners on the card for a trainer who had the first two winners of this race in 2020 and 2021.

In the following Riyadh Dirt Sprint at 2.00pm (GMT), STRAIGHT NO CHASER looks a fair bet at odds against. He most recently won the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar in November and, put simply, he’s superior to his rivals in this lesser contest. Remake, unsuited by the short home stretch when down the field in that Del Mar contest, will be suited by returning to the Riyadh track, with its much longer straight, having won this race last year. But the last time a BC Sprint winner showed up in this race, in 2023, that horse (Elite Power) thrashed his rivals, with Remake only third. It ought to be a similarly straightforward enough task for Straight No Chaser.

There are no real tempting plays in the Neom Turf Cup or in the 1351 Turf Sprint, but I am keen on DEIRA MILE in the Longines Red Sea Turf Handicap, at 4.50pm (GMT), a G2 staying contest and the race before the main event. This looks like a pretty weak heat. Aidan O’Brien won this last year with Tower Of London and this time around he runs Continuous, whose only previous try over a staying trip saw him win the St Leger in 2023. But he became disappointing last year, and as he has a particularly round action and hits the ground hard, he’s not sure to love the quick conditions or the tight turns. The selection is much more tempting. The Owen Burrows runner brings in smart form form last season, having finished fourth in the Derby and the St Leger in Britain. This test should suit him and he’s drawn to save ground.

SELECTIONS:

Best bet: Straight No Chaser (2.00 pm GMT)

Next best: Deira Mile (4.50pm GMT)

Dark horse: Shin Forever (1.20pm GMT)