DUBAI: The esteem in which British trainer Charlie Fellowes holds Prince of Arran is clear in every word he utters about his popular eight-year-old horse.
“My fella, he’s old, he’s clever, he looks after himself,” said Fellowes. “The reason he’s probably as good as he has ever been, aged eight, is because he has always looked after himself. And it’s also why he finished second and third so many times, because he only ever does as much as he has to.”
The champion racehorse is back in Riyadh for the second running of the Saudi Cup, competing in the $2.5 million Red Sea Turf Handicap over 3000m on Saturday, Feb. 20.
UPDATED 7:17PM, FEB 13 2021
At approximately the same time as his Saudi Arabia hope Oxted was taking off from Stansted airport, Cieren Fallon hit top gear himself to land the feature 6f handicap on Twilight Heir.
According to his trainer Michael Bell beforehand, the 3-1 outsider of three should not have been that price and he was proved right as he denied the gambled-on Charlie Fellowes in a driving finish, with favourite Water Of Leith well held in third.
Bell said: “Twilight Heir was on a reasonable mark and he’s done well from two to three. We’ll see what the handicapper does, but we’ll probably put him away for the turf after that.
UNLIKE the past few weeks, the weather has called a halt to the turf racing and the all-weather takes control of a feature Saturday.
The big race tomorrow now falls on the side of a zero-95 rated, six-furlong handicap at Lingfield at 2pm.
However, this three-year-old event has surprisingly only attracted a field of four which is a disappointment but probably more a reflection on the very moderate prize money up for grabs.
But what we are not short of is young horses in form, with two of the entries on a hat-trick and Charlie Fellowes on a four-timer.
And despite the size of the field, we will not be short of early pace with Charlie Fellowes and Secret Handshiekh both very free in their races. It could play into the hands of WATER OF LEITH, which trainer Jim Goldie feels is a very classy individual.
RIYADH: With the Saudi Cup less than a fortnight away, the likely runners for the two-day $30.5 million event have been revealed.
The field will be led by a strong American contingent including Brad Cox’s Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and Pegasus World Cup winner Knicks Go.
The King Abdul Aziz Racecourse in Riyadh will host 77 overseas contenders representing 13 different countries from around the world who between them have won 24 Group or Grade 1 contests.
Also lining up in the Saudi capital from the US will be Grade 1 Malibu Stakes winner Charlatan, and Tacitus, who finished fifth in the inaugural race last year and is owned by Juddmonte Farms.
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