Saudi Cup Horse Racing Betting Preview, Odds & Favorite Bets

The inaugural 2020 Saudi Cup on Saturday, February 29, is the world’s richest race with a purse of $20 million.

The 1 1/8-mile race is open to horses aged four and older.

Post time 12:40 p.m. ET

Fourteen runners from around the world will gather at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Dubai.

Betting Odds For The Saudi Cup Horse Race

HORSE	ODDS
Maximum Security	2-1 (+200)
Mckinzie	5-2 (+250)
Midnight Bisou	15-2 (+750)
Chyrsoberyl	16-1
Mucho Gusto	11/2 (+550)
Tacitus	14-1 (+1400)
Magic Wand 25-1	(+2500)
Benbatl	(11-2) (+550)
Capezzano	(15-2) (+750)
Gronkowski	(20-1) (+2000)
Gold Dream	(25-1) (+2500)
North America	(25-1) (+2500)
Great Scot	(40-1) (+4000)
Mijack	66-1 (+6600)
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Saudi Cup Horses Breakdown And Bets To Place

Let’s take a look at the fourteen contenders for this race:

MAXIMUM SECURITY (USA) (2-1) (+200)

Pros: Technically, Maximum Security has lost just one race, and he had an excuse. He prefers to lead the pack but can rate. He’s won both starts at 1 1/8-miles.

Cons: Maximum Security is making his first start off a two-month layoff, and he’ll be racing without Lasix for the first time. The track is deeper than what he is used to, and it favors closers.

Use ON TOP and UNDERNEATH.

MCKINZIE (USA) (5-2) (+250)

Pros: McKinzie has never finished out of the money at 1 1/8-miles. He’ll be close to or pressing the pace. Trainer Bob Baffert is experienced in shipping in and winning in the Middle East.

Cons: McKinzie’s last race was a distant runner-up finish in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. He’ll also be racing without Lasix and likes to mix it up on the front end.

Use ON TOP and UNDERNEATH.

MIDNIGHT BISOU (USA) (15-2) (+750)

Pros: Last year’s Champion Older Dirt mare Midnight Bisou has been training spectacularly for the Saudi Cup. She’s hit the board in all six starts at 1 1/8-miles. Note that Mike Smith, the regular rider for McKenzie and Midnight Bisou, sticks with the mare. She can sit back and make one run.

Cons: Midnight Bisou is in the toughest spot of her career. She’s never raced against the boys.

Use ON TOP and UNDERNEATH.

CHYRSOBERYL (JPN) (16-1)

Pros: Chyrsoberyl is undefeated in six starts all at 1 1/8-miles or farther. The impressive 3-year-old beat a full field of 16 older horses in the Champions Cup (G1), including Saudi Cup entrant Gold Dream.  Chyrsoberyl set a new track record of 1:48.5. He’s able to sit off the pace.  

Cons: Chyrsoberyl will get a stiff test against the American horses in the Saudi Cup.

Use ON TOP and UNDERNEATH.

MUCHO GUSTO (USA) (11/2) (+550)

Pros: Mucho Gusto comes off a victory in the Pegasus Cup at 1 1/8-miles. He should improve as a 4-year-old. He’s finished in the money three of four tries at the distance.

Cons: McKinzie’s stablemate Mucho Gusto beat little in the Pegasus Cup, and he’d have to step up his game to beat Maximum Security and McKenzie.  

Use UNDERNEATH.

TACITUS (USA) (14-1) (+1400)

Pros: Tacitus skipped the Breeders’ Cup with the Saudi Cup as his long-term goal. He shipped to King Abdulaziz Racecourse early to get acclimated to the track. Always a large horse, Tacitus has filled out and could be a threat. He’s been in the money in both starts at 1 1/8-miles.  

Cons: Tacitus has been on a losing streak since last May. He doesn’t have the “fighter instinct” to win and has placed second or third in four consecutive starts.

Use UNDERNEATH.

MAGIC WAND (IRE) (25-1) (+2500)

Pros: Jet Setter Magic Wand is consistently in the money, and is one of the best mares in the world. She’s making her first start over the dirt, but good horses can run over anything.

Cons: Magic Wand has competed at nine tracks in the last year, sometimes twice a month. She’s facing a salty field, and how she’ll handle the dirt is an unknown.

Use UNDERNEATH.

BENBATL (GB) (11-2) (+550)

Pros: A winner of his last two starts, Benbatl proved that he could handle dirt when he easily captured the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 (G2) going away by two lengths.  Benbatl likes to sit close to the pace, and he showed another gear in the stretch of the Al Maktoum.

Cons: Benbatl is facing a much stronger dirt field in the Saudi Cup, but this classy horse won last year’s Dubai Turf (G1) against some of the best horses in the world.

Use UNDERNEATH.

CAPEZZANO (15-2) (+750)

Pros: Capezzano has won four of his last five starts, all between a mile to 1 1/4-miles.

Cons: Capezzano is a big horse in a small pond, beating up on lesser horses. He is a confirmed pacesetter in a field with plenty of quality speed.

The Play: Toss.

GRONKOWSKI (USA) (20-1) (+2000)

Pros: Gronkowski is a one-run closer whose style suites the track bias. He’s finished in the money in three previous starts, including just missing a surprise victory by a nose in the Dubai World Cup.

Cons: Gronkowski occasionally puts forth an exceptional effort, but he was a cut below in America. He was bested by 8 3/4-lengths by Benbatl in his last start.

The Play: Toss.

GOLD DREAM (JPN) (25-1) (+2500)

Pros: Gold Dream just missed the victory in Japan’s Champions Cup (G1) by a neck.

Cons: Gold Dream does his best work as a miler. He won once at 1 1/4-miles, in a very slow 2:04. He has never won at the Group 1 level.

The Play: Toss.

GREAT SCOT (40-1) (+4000)

Pros: Great Scot may find new life as a gelding. He was bought to run in the Saudi Cup.

Cons: Great Scot is a Group 3/Group 2 level runner at best. He’s never won beyond a mile.

The Play: Toss.

MIJACK (66-1) (+6600)

Pros: The local horse, Mijack has won five of nine starts over this course. He captured the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup (G1) to earn a spot in the Saudi Cup.

Cons: Mijack has been beating up on lesser horses. His final time for the 1 1/8-mile Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup was a glacial 2:06.

The Play: Toss.