By Alan Carasso
The silks of the late Prince Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte Farms were already set to be carried aboard US raider Tacitus (Tapit) in the $20-million Saudi Cup (1800m, dirt) Feb. 20, and the breeding operation will also be represented by Derevo (GB) (Dansili {GB}), after the former Sir Michael Stoute galloper arrived in the nick of time to take out the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup (2000m, dirt) Saturday at King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh. The 340,000gns Tattersalls Autumn Horses In Training acquisition just touched off the commonly owned multiple Chilean Group 1 winner Cariblanco (Chi) (Awesome Patriot) with fellow TATAUT purchase Making Miracles (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) third.
Drawn in the auxiliary gate in 15, Derevo traveled well off the inside and better than midfield on the long backstretch run. Into a clear fifth for the run around the bend, he was switched out in the straight and required every bit of the final 400 metres to be along in time.
Derevo won his maiden at second asking at Chelmsford in 2019 and added victories on the turf at Pontefract and a Newcastle handicap over 2400 metres of that all-weather surface later that summer. On behalf of Najd Stud, Voute Sales signed for Derevo at Tattersalls last October. The winner's dam produced a Kodiac (GB) filly for Juddmonte in 2020.
WATCH: Derevo (#1, red cap, far left) gets up on the wire in the King's Cup
Saturday's Results:
CUSTODIAN OF THE TWO HOLY MOSQUES CUP (King's Cup) (NBT), SAR1,000,000 (£194,569/€219,734/US$266,667), King Abdulaziz, 1-30, 4yo/up, 2000m, 2:04.15, ft.
1–DEREVO (GB), 127, g, 5, Dansili (GB)–Pavlosk (SW-Eng), by
Arch. (340,000gns HRA '20 TATAUT). O-Prince Faisal Bin
Khaled Bin Abdulaziz; B-Juddmonte Farms Ltd; T-A M Al
Khatani; J-A Alwafi; SAR500,00. Lifetime Record: 12-4-2-1,
$176,019.
2–Cariblanco (Chi), 127, h, 5, Awesome Patriot–Entera Buena
(Chi), by Hurricane Cat. SAR200,000.
3–Making Miracles (GB), 127, g, 6, Pivotal (GB)–Field of
Miracles (Ire), by Galileo (Ire). (47,000gns Ylg '16 TATOCT;
22,000gns HRA '19 TATAUT). SAR150,000.
Margins: NO, 1HF, 3.
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