By Bill Finley
Add McKinzie (Street Sense) to the list of U.S.-based horses that are expected to vie for the winner's share of the $20-million Saudi Cup.
“Right now, he's just in light training, jogging, galloping,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “He looks good. Definitely, we're pointing to the race in Saudi Arabia and also the [G1] Dubai World Cup.”
The trio of multi-million dollar races available to trainers and owners early next year begins with the Jan. 28 GI Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream. Baffert said that race is not, as of now, on McKinzie's schedule.
“Right now, if I'm going to [run in the Saudi Cup and the Dubai World Cup], the Pegasus might be a little bit close,” he said. “I could change my mind. I even looked at the [GI] Cigar Mile. He looks fantastic. He's filling out now and we want to go for those big purses.”
Others who have committed to the Feb. 29 Saudi Cup include Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute) and Math Wizard (Algorithms).
McKinzie is coming off a 4-year-old campaign in which he won two of seven starts, including the GI Whitney S. In his most recent start he was second in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
