SATURDAY, 20 FEBRUARY 2021 STRENGTH IN DEPTH ON BRITTAS HOUSE TO WRAP UP DISPERSAL AT TATTS MARCH ONLINE SALE SAUDI CUP UNDERCARD The dispersal of the late Peter Magnier=s Brittas House Stud will come to a close with offerings during Tattersalls=s Online 23rd March Sale. The 8-year-old We Are Ninety (Ire) (Thewayyouare) headlines the dispersal offerings, and the Listed Haras De Bouquetot Fillies Trial S. winner is offered alongside her filly foal by Calyx (GB). We Are Ninety is also set to be covered by first-season sire Sottsass (Fr). We Are Ninety boasts a deep pedigree, her second dam being Brigid (Irish River {Fr}), whose descendants include Group 1 winners Listen (Ire) (Sadler=s Wells), Sequoyah (Ire) (Sadler=s Wells), Henrythenavigator (Kingmambo) and Magician (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). We Are Ninety=s filly foal half-sister by Ten Sovereigns (Ire) will also be offered alongside a foster mare to be returned once the foal is weaned. Cont. p5 Oxted and Harry Teal in Riyadh | Emma Berry IN TDN AMERICA TODAY KNICKS GO, CHARLATAN BATTLE IN THE DESERT By Emma Berry American stars Knicks Go and Charlatan take on 12 others in RIYADH, Saudi Arabia--The first three home in last year's Red the second running of the $20-million Saudi Cup. Click or tap Sea Turf Handicap have all returned to Riyadh for this $2.5 here to go straight to TDN America. million staying contest over 3,000 metres. The trio is led by the George Strawbridge homebred Call The Wind (GB) (Frankel {GB}), whose victory over Mekong (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and Prince Of Arran (GB) (Shirocco {Ger}) was followed through the French summer with wins in the G3 Prix de Barbeville and G2 Prix Kergorlay. Freddy Head, who arrived in Saudi in time to see the 7-year-old have an easy canter on Thursday morning, said, "The lads are happy with him and I am very happy with him. The preparation has gone well and he looks to be in the same form as last year." Jamie Osborne was another Thursday arrival at the track to check up on Khalid Bin Mishref's Mekong, who had made just one start after last year's Saudi Cup meeting when fifth in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot. He reappeared for a tune-up at Wolverhampton on Jan. 18 in the countdown to his overseas trip. Mekong has not been seen on the main track in the mornings this week and his trainer explained why. "He is an interesting character," said Osborne. Cont. p2 TDN EUROPE • PAGE 2 OF 11 • THETDN.COM SATURDAY • 20 FEBRUARY 2021 Strength In Depth On Saudi Cup Undercard cont. from p1 Champion Channel The Class Act In Turf Cup The Neom Turf Cup has been blessed with the presence of "He has a tendency to plant himself and when we brought him America's champion turf horse, Channel Maker (English to the track last year to do his thing, we couldn't get him to go Channel), who accompanied his Bill Mott stablemate Tacitus to anywhere. That's normal for him. So we shock him into it, in the Riyadh in order to take part in this 2100-metre test. The sense that he is a horse that needs to have his routine changed 7-year-old was just a length behind Tarnawa (Ire) (Shamardal) regularly, because he gets used to something and then he when third in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf, his final start in a 2020 resents it. So the first time he will see the track is when he campaign which saw him win back-to-back Grade Is at Saratoga runs." and Belmont. He does, however, appear to be more effective The hugely popular Prince Of Arran appears to be exactly the when stretching out to a mile and a half. opposite. Routinely the first out in the morning among the internationals, the 8-year-old exercises willingly in partnership with rider Aled Beech and seems to retain plenty of enthusiasm after a number of overseas trips. He will jump from stall four under Frankie Dettori, two outside Call The Wind, who has the services of Olivier Peslier. Nine of the 13 runners hail from European stables, with Mark Johnston's Mildenberger (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) having drawn the rail for his first start since winning an All-Weather Championships fast track qualifier over an extended two miles at Wolverhampton in January. Charlie Appleby's quartet for the meeting arrived from Dubai on Wednesday and he has the lightly-raced Secret Advisor (Fr) engaged in this event. The 7-year-old has not raced since early November but he undertook a racecourse gallop at Meydan last Tilsit | Mahmoud Khaled/Saudi Cup week which his trainer said has put him spot-on for this assignment. A busy international weekend for Andrew Balding sees the In his time, Gronkowski (Lonhro {Aus}) has been trained in Kingsclere trainer with three runners in Qatar and Saudi, Britain, America and Dubai, but the 2018 GI Belmont S. including Team Valor and Gary Barber's G2 Doncaster Cup runner-up is now trained locally in Saudi by Abdulaziz Bin winner Spanish Mission (Noble Mission {GB}) in this competitive Mishref. To be ridden by Olivier Peslier, he has drawn stall seven contest. in the field of 12, which has also lured runners from Britain and Ireland. Willie Mullins may be more focused on preparing his battalions for the Cheltenham Festival next month but he will be represented in Saudi on the Flat by the globetrotting mare True Self (Ire) (Oscar {Ire}), who was last seen winning the G3 Queen Elizabeth S. at Flemington in November for the second year in a row. Hardy and versatile, the 8-year-old's 10 wins have come between 10 furlongs and two miles, as well as over hurdles. This is her second trip to Saudi after running sixth in the Red Sea Turf H. last year. The Adrian McGuinness-trained Saltonstall (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) was in great form in Ireland last autumn when winning his final three races of the year over a mile. The trainer's son Tadhg has been riding him in the mornings in Riyadh and gave him a spin Red Verdon | Douglas DeFelice/Saudi Cup around the grass track on Thursday. "He took a good pull and handled the surface," said the trainer following that exercise. TDN EUROPE • PAGE 3 OF 11 • THETDN.COM SATURDAY • 20 FEBRUARY 2021 Strength In Depth On Saudi Cup Undercard cont. "He's just done a nice, steady canter and quickened a little bit up the straight just for half a furlong. We're delighted with him and he came back great." A contender who should not be overlooked is Juddmonte's Tilsit (First Defence), who has made just four starts for Charlie Senior Vice President Gary King Hills for two wins, including the G3 Thoroughbred S. at Twitter: @garykingTDN Goodwood. [email protected] Described as a little quirky by his rider Henry Morshead, the + 1.732.320.0975 4-year-old has nevertheless behaved well in the mornings and looks to be in terrific form ahead of his first start since chasing International Editor home Kameko (Kitten's Joy) when fourth in the G2 Joel S. at Kelsey Riley Newmarket in September. Twitter: @kelseynrileyTDN [email protected] Blues The One To Beat In Turf Sprint European Editor The stc 1351 Turf Sprint takes its unusual distance of 1,351 Emma Berry metres from the year in the Islamic calendar in which the Twitter: @collingsberry Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded (1932 in the Gregorian [email protected] calendar). It's a trip which will certainly suit the class act in the field, Associate International Editor Heather Anderson Space Blues (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}). Granted, he hasn't been seen in Twitter: @HLAndersonTDN the heat of battle since winning the G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest last August, but that victory completed a faultless string of four Marketing Manager progressive runs in Europe last summer which marked the Alayna Cullen 5-year-old as a sprinter of huge potential. Gifted stall two in the Twitter: @AlaynaCullen draw, he has wintered in Dubai and travelled to Saudi on [email protected] Wednesday with his stablemate and rival Glorious Journey (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), who was third in last year's race from a wide Contributing Editors draw and has a slightly better starting point this year in gate Alan Carasso Christina Bossinakis nine. Cafe Racing Sean Cronin Tom Frary [email protected] Irish Correspondent Daithi Harvey Regular Columnists Chris McGrath | John Berry | Kevin Blake Amy Lynam | Melissa Steele Space Blues and Rebel=s Romance stretch their legs in Riyadh | Mathea Kelley/Saudi Cup Want to list your job? Standard listing:$350 Multi listing:$300 each • One printed ad on this page (date of your choice) • Two printed ads on this page (two dates of your choice) • 30 day listing on our careers page:thetdn.com/careers • 30 day listing on our careers page:thetdn.com/careers • Job promoted through our social media channels • Job promoted through our social media channels Contact the TDN Ad Staff: [email protected] > 62.7K >52.1K >31.4K for details or to post a job TDN EUROPE • PAGE 4 OF 11 • THETDN.COM SATURDAY • 20 FEBRUARY 2021 Strength In Depth On Saudi Cup Undercard cont. from Britain in last season's G1 July Cup winner Oxted (GB) (Mayson {GB}). Now five, Roger Teal's stable star is racing on dirt Last year's winner Dark Power (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) was one and around a bend for the first time but the trainer and his son of two on the inaugural Saudi Cup card for Bahrain.