Sir Busker well prepared, in the hunt for NEOM Turf glory at Saudi Cup

LONDON: One of the horses flying the flag for British racing at this weekend’s Saudi Cup meeting has “definitely got a chance” of claiming a famous victory among a strong field, his trainer William Knight and syndicate chief Sam Hoskins said on Friday.

Sir Busker runs in the Group Three NEOM Turf Cup on Saturday and will face stiff competition from early favorite Missed The Cut, trained by George Boughey, and the John and Thady Gosden-trained Mostahdaf, while the strongest Arab interest will be in White Moonlight, trained by Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor.

“Mostahdaf has got very good form in the book,” Knight said. “Missed The Cut looks unexposed, it could do anything, and I know the Boughey team think a lot of him.”

He added: “They are probably the two favorites. They’ll be priced up as such, and they’ve got every right to be so. It’s competitive as any of these big races are, but I definitely think [Sir Busker] has got a chance of being in the first three.

“If he can run to the same form as he did when he won the Group Two at York, as well as his Juddmonte form, he’s got to be there in the shake-up,” he told Arab News.

British racing’s interest in the Saudi Cup has flourished since the inaugural event in 2020, according to Knight, who said the meeting is perfectly timed for horses in between their season breaks.

The potential for competitive racing against highly rated horses without the threat of ruining the rhythm of the regular racing season is what makes the Saudi Cup an alluring prospect, according to Knight.

He said: “It fits well in our calendar, especially if a horse has had a break after the season last year.

“You can get them ready for this [meeting] without necessarily having to rush them there, and