Mishriff

One of the most exciting horses in France, Vadeni (Fr) (Churchill {Ire}) is set to take his chance in the G1 Coral-Eclipse at Sandown on Saturday, and connections are expecting a massive performance.  Vadeni, trained by Jean-Claude Rouget, was supplemented at a cost of £50,000 for the race on Monday. A hugely impressive winner of the G1 Qatar Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly when last seen, the French raider is a general 2-1 favourite to follow up on that success at Sandown.   Georges Rimaud, the Aga Khan's racing manager,...

Walter Rodriguez, a 24-year-old native of El Salvador, rode the first winner of his career when he guided Rationalmillennial (Orb)--owned and trained by Jose Corrales--to victory in the sixth race at Laurel Park Sunday. "I kept looking at the right side to make sure nobody else was coming because I wanted to go around the horse in front of me, and after that I knew I had it," Rodriguez said. "It's very, very exciting. It's been a lot of hard work and a lot of help from all my friends."...

Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}), a Group 1 winner in three different countries, has Royal Ascot pencilled in for his European comeback following a lacklustre performance when attempting to defend his crown in the G1 Saudi Cup in February.  "Everything seems good and he's had a good rest following his Saudi Cup run. All things seem to be pointing to Royal Ascot at the moment," said Ted Voute, racing manager to the 5-year-old's owner/breeder Prince Faisal. "He hasn't had the best of luck [at Ascot], but two of his runs...

By Emma Berry and Kelsey Riley A line-up worthy of its new Group 1 status, the Saudi Cup has attracted runners from seven nations, with Classic winners from two continents likely to be the leading players in the field of 14. The major fly in the ointment for defending champion Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) appears to be his draw in stall 14, but he wasn't much closer to the rail last year when winning from gate 12. He has really impressed in mornings this week, appearing relaxed and looking...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia--In its short history, the Saudi Cup meeting has not been short of drama. It has also not been slow in ensuring Group 1 status, which it carries this year for the third running of the world's richest race.  It is a deserved uplift. Last year's winner of the $20 million Saudi Cup, Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}), was a Classic winner coming into the race, and won another two Group 1s in Dubai and Britain following his success in Riyadh. What's more, he had the subsequent Breeders'...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia--Defending champion Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) will jump from the outside stall in the 14-runner field for Saturday's $20 million Saudi Cup. "Obviously it's not ideal," said the 5-year-old's co-trainer Thady Gosden after selecting barrier 14 for Prince Faisal's homebred. "But last year he was drawn in 12 before winning so hopefully on Saturday he'll jump well and get into a good place in the back stretch. It's a very competitive-looking renewal of the race. He comes here in good form and still shows plenty of enthusiasm."...

Last year's GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Knicks Go (Paynter) was named the Longines World's Best Racehorse of 2021 during a virtual ceremony of the Longines World Racing Awards presented from the National Horse Racing Museum in Newmarket, England on Tuesday. Also during the ceremony, the G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe--won last year by Torquator Tasso (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger})--was announced as the Longines World's Best Horse Race of 2021, and Ryan Moore was celebrated as the Longines World's Best Jockey. The 6-year-old Knicks Go earned a rating of...

Defending winner Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) as well as Breeders' Cup winners Knicks Go (Paynter), Life Is Good (Into Mischief) and Marche Lorraine (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}) are among the entries for the $20-million G1 Saudi Cup which takes place on Feb. 26 at Riyadh. Connections of the 5-year-old Mishriff recently confirmed he is on track for the race, and the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff winner Marche Lorraine is expected to conclude her racing career there. Breeders' Cup Classic winner Knicks Go and Dirt Mile victor Life Is Good are...

Prince Faisal's Contradict (GB) (Raven's Pass), whose first three foals are stakes horses including the multiple Group 1 winner Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}), will visit Dubawi (Ire) in 2022, Prince Faisal's Racing Advisor Ted Voute told the TDN. The resulting foal will therefore be bred similarly to Mishriff, he being by Dubawi's Classic-winning grandson Make Believe. Contradict was bred by Prince Faisal's Nawara Stud and comes from a line of excellent producers that he cultivated. Contradict's third dam Eljazzi (Artaius) produced the G3 Blandford S. winner Chiang Mai (Ire)...

Lope De Vega (Ire) will stand at €125,000 in 2022, that figure being unchanged from his 2021 fee at Ballylinch Stud, where he has stood throughout his 11 covering seasons in the Northern Hemisphere. His popularity transcends Europe, however, and the 14-year-old son of Shamardal is now the sire of 13 Group/Grade 1 winners in America, Australia, Britain, Ireland, France, and Dubai. "This year Lope de Vega confirmed that he is one of the world's elite sires, with an exceptional 48 black-type horses in 2021 alone," said Ballylinch Stud managing...

Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}), the globetrotting winner of this year's G1 Juddmonte International, G1 Dubai Sheema Classic and Saudi Cup, will put a pause on his travels and miss the Breeders' Cup at Del Mar. Trainer John Gosden told Daily Racing Form that the world's joint highest-rated horse needed "a little bit of a rest" after finishing fourth in last weekend's G1 Champion S. at Ascot. "You need to be 100% happy that you're doing the right thing," Gosden told that publication. "He's been a pretty busy boy." The...

If confirmation was needed that Ascot's QIPCO British Champions Day is what it says it is, a glance at the most recently-published Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings reveals all. Of the 11 Europeans occupying the top 20 in the list, five are in action on Saturday with four of the remaining either injured or retired at this point. Heading the A-list quintet at present are the inseparable G1 QIPCO Champion S.-bound Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}), with the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. favourite Palace...