Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert is set to return to King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia next week with the goal of capturing his first win in the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1), a prestigious race he is eager to add to his impressive list of global achievements. Baffert\u2019s entries include Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) winner Nisos and Goodwood (G1) winner Nevada Beach, both competing in Saturday\u2019s main event, alongside last year\u2019s champion Forever Young (JPN), whom Baffert welcomes as a significant challenge.<\/p>\n
Reflecting on past attempts, Baffert remarked, “I\u2019ve often felt victory was within reach, especially when watching the Saudi Cup live, but that final 100 meters has been brutally tough. We\u2019re usually leading at that point, and then suddenly it slips away.” His close calls emphasize how those last few strides have proven costly over the years.<\/p>\n
Among Baffert\u2019s three runners competing on the night is Imagination, who will run in the Riyadh Dirt Sprint (G2). All horses arrived in Riyadh in good health, much to the satisfaction of Baffert and his veteran team member Jimmy Barnes. “It was a long journey, but they adapted well,” Baffert said. \u201cMy assistant confirmed they\u2019re all in good spirits. I even jogged on the track Thursday morning, and everything looks promising. It\u2019s remarkable how tough these horses are after such travel.\u201d<\/p>\n
With a history of near misses, Baffert\u2019s reflection on his struggles in this event is understandable. Last year, fans were thrilled watching Forever Young and Romantic Warrior battle through a fierce, runnerless stretch, while in 2024, National Treasure finished fourth. Country Grammar held second place in 2023 and 2022, Charlatan was runner-up in 2021, and Mucho Gusto secured third in the inaugural 2020 race.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Saudi Cup is unique, and winning requires top-level horses. Looking at last year\u2019s efforts from Romantic Warrior and Forever Young, they ran superb races,\u201d Baffert said. \u201cWe\u2019ve planned carefully with Nisos. After deciding not to run him in the Breeders\u2019 Cup Classic, we entered him in the Dirt Mile and then chose to keep him active for another year. The Saudi Cup has been on our radar since.\u201d<\/p>\n
Regarding Nevada Beach, Baffert noted, \u201cAfter the Breeders\u2019 Cup, I realized he\u2019s a horse who covers the ground well with big strides. He wants to run a mile and a quarter, and although the Riyadh track presents challenges, he reminds me a bit of Country Grammar, who performed admirably there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Baffert will oversee this week\u2019s preparations and hopes both horses will be ready to race. \u201cThe prize money is significant, and every big event is a challenge as a trainer. This is one race I haven\u2019t won yet, so I\u2019d be thrilled to finally do it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a tough field, but all major races are. We\u2019re excited and hoping for a smooth week\u2014at least the weather won\u2019t be a problem!\u201d<\/p>\n
Flavien Prat is set to ride Imagination in the Riyadh Dirt Sprint and Nisos in the Saudi Cup, while Irad Ortiz Jr. will partner with Nevada Beach. Baffert added, \u201cImagination works well here. He\u2019s a slow starter but improves as the race progresses. He should be very competitive, though you never know until race day.\u201d<\/p>\n
This article originally appeared in the Paulick Report on February 8, 2026, in the News section.<\/em><\/p>\n Fan Take:<\/strong> This news is thrilling for horse racing enthusiasts because Bob Baffert\u2019s pursuit of his first Saudi Cup win highlights how even legendary trainers face tough, high-stakes challenges. A victory here would not only cement his legacy further but also showcase international competition at its finest, raising the sport\u2019s global profile.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert is set to return to King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia next week with the goal of capturing his first win in the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1), a prestigious race he is eager to add to his impressive list of global achievements. Baffert\u2019s entries include Breeders’ Cup […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42246,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2443],"tags":[2955],"class_list":{"0":"post-42245","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fighting","8":"tag-horse-racing"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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