You know how punters get lost in too much data or bet blindly? I break down the stats and trends so you can feel confident you’re betting with more than just gut instinct.
2026 Saudi Cup Preview
Established in 2020, the Saudi Cup is the richest horse race in the world. Its purse is over £15 million, or $20 million. The race is contested on the dirt track over 1,800m (1m1f) at the King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in late February of each year.
The race comes in the middle of an eight-week racing treble, which can attract the same runners to all three races, four weeks before this race is the Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park and then four weeks after is the Dubai World Cup at Meydan, with the three races combining for a purse of around $35 million.
Saudi Cup Information:
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2026
How competitive is the Saudi Cup market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 6 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2022 when the race had an over-round of 121%. The race in 2025 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 150%, whilst on average over the last 6 renewals of the Saudi Cup, the over-round has been 127%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £127 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2026 Saudi Cup Trends. See which patterns have occurred over the recent renewals that you may be able to use for the next renewal. We also have a section that looks at the Saudi Cup Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run Saudi Cup races over the last 6 renewals:
- Forever Young (1:49.09) in 2025
- Senor Buscador (1:49.50) in 2024
- Mishriff (1:49.59) in 2021
Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? Over the past 6 renewals, if you had followed the winner of the Saudi Cup next time out, then you would have backed a total of 2 winners. Backing all 6 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of +0.50. Remember to bookmark the racing tips page to access the OLBG racing picks easily daily.
The runner that holds the record over the past 6 renewals for the slowest time in the race was set in the 2023 renewal when Panthalassa from Yoshito Yahagi under the guidance of Yutaka Yoshida, won in a time of 1:50.79, whilst at the other end of the spectrum, Forever Young, trained by Yoshito Yahagi and ridden by Ryusei Sakai set the quickest time of 1:49.09 in the 2025 renewal.
Saudi Cup Past Winners
Here are the Saudi Cup past winners for the last 6 renewals. Each row details the year of the race, the horse which won, along with the age & weight of the horse. Also detailed is the stall from which the horse came and the total number of runners in the race. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Saudi Cup are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse (Drawn) | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 1:49.09 | Forever Young (JPN) 4yo 9-0 (14 of 14) 11/8F | Ryusei Sakai Yoshito Yahagi (JPN) |
| 2024 1:49.50 | Senor Buscador (USA) 6yo 9-0 (4 of 14) 16/1 | Junior Alvarado Todd W Fincher (USA) |
| 2023 1:50.79 | Panthalassa (JPN) 6yo 9-0 (1 of 13) 16/1 | Yutaka Yoshida Yoshito Yahagi (JPN) |
| 2022 1:50.52 | Emblem Road (USA) 4yo 9-0 (5 of 14) 50/1 | Wigberto Ramos Moutaib Almulawah (KSA) |
| 2021 1:49.59 | Mishriff (IRE) 4yo 9-0 (12 of 14) 8/1 | David Egan John Gosden (GB) |
| 2020 1:50.58 | Midnight Bisou (USA) 5yo 8-9 (6 of 14) 14/1 | Mike E Smith Steven Asmussen (USA) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Saudi Cup have been based:
- USA: 2 winners with an additional 6 placings from 22 runners
- JPN: 2 winners with an additional 3 placings from 19 runners
- KSA: 1 winner with an additional 1 placing from 20 runners
- GB: 1 winner with an additional 1 placing from 7 runners
- UAE: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 8 runners
- FR: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 3 runners
- HK: 0 winners with an additional 1 placing from 1 runner
- BHR: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner
- BRZ: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner
- IRE: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner
2025 Saudi Cup Replay
Saudi Cup Trainer Statistics
The leading trainer in the Saudi Cup over the last 6 renewals is Yoshito Yahagi, who has won the race two times, with those two winners coming from Panthalassa (2023) and Forever Young (2025).
Here are some of the top Saudi Cup trainer statistics over the last 6 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Trainer | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yoshito Yahagi | 3-2-2 | +16.38 | +9.43 |
| Moutaib Almulawah | 5-1-1 | +46.00 | +26.00 |
| Steven Asmussen | 3-1-2 | +12.00 | +8.10 |
| John Gosden | 2-1-1 | +7.00 | +3.80 |
| Todd W Fincher | 1-1-1 | +16.00 | +9.60 |
| Bob Baffert | 7-0-4 | -7.00 | -2.25 |
| Abdulaziz K Mishref | 4-0-0 | -4.00 | -4.00 |
| Noboru Takagi | 3-0-2 | -3.00 | +1.05 |
| Brad H Cox | 3-0-1 | -3.00 | +0.00 |
| William Mott | 3-0-0 | -3.00 | -3.00 |
Saudi Cup Jockey Statistics
Here are some of the top Saudi Cup jockey statistics over the last 6 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Jockey | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mike E Smith | 3-1-2 | +12.00 | +7.10 |
| David Egan | 2-1-1 | +7.00 | +3.80 |
| Ryusei Sakai | 2-1-1 | +0.38 | -0.17 |
| Wigberto Ramos | 1-1-1 | +50.00 | +30.00 |
| Junior Alvarado | 1-1-1 | +16.00 | +9.60 |
| Yutaka Yoshida | 1-1-1 | +16.00 | +9.60 |
| Joel Rosario | 5-0-1 | -5.00 | -3.30 |
| Mickael Barzalona | 5-0-0 | -5.00 | -5.00 |
| Frankie Dettori | 4-0-1 | -4.00 | -3.25 |
| Alexis Moreno | 4-0-0 | -4.00 | -4.00 |
2026 Saudi Cup Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): DSQ, 4, 14, 8, 10, 1
The percentage shown is the percentage of the total number of runners who fell under that factor. High percentages are less appealing than lower ones, as you would expect them to do well. The trend information is based on the available information on the Racing Post in terms of previous runs, etc.
- 6 / 6 (46%) - In a field of 10 - 13 (LTO)
- 6 / 6 (64%) - Achieved an RPR of 113+ (Last Win)
- 6 / 6 (65%) - Not on SFT/GS/GD/GF/SLW (Debut)
- 6 / 6 (66%) - Break of 42 - 336 days (Last Win)
- 6 / 6 (69%) - Ran over 7f - 1m1f (Debut)
- 6 / 6 (70%) - Not in a G2-3/LST (LTO)
- 6 / 6 (75%) - Not CH/GR/RG in colour
- 6 / 6 (76%) - Beaten no more -4l (Debut)
- 6 / 6 (78%) - No bigger than 109/5 (Career Place)
- 6 / 6 (78%) - Dam is not ARG/BRZ/FR/JPN bred
- 6 / 6 (78%) - Furthest Placed 1m - 1m2½f
- 6 / 6 (78%) - Not in ARG/BHR/UAE/URY (LTO)
- 6 / 6 (80%) - Off a break of 28 - 126 days
- 6 / 6 (80%) - Carried 123 - 128lbs (LTO)
- 6 / 6 (80%) - Sex is not Gelding
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101 Ways to find Winners in Horse Racing
Saudi Cup Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor, which has produced 3+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +62.00, is when runners ran over 1m on debut.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 3 places in the past year, when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-23.
Here are the most recent winning draws, along with the further placings in brackets:
- 2025: Winner in 14 (3,1) [14 Runners]
- 2024: Winner in 4 (11,5) [14 Runners]
- 2023: Winner in 1 (10,13) [13 Runners]
- 2022: Winner in 5 (1,3) [14 Runners]
- 2021: Winner in 12 (9,3) [14 Runners]
The courses that have produced the most winners of the Saudi Cup are Ohi, Janadriyah, Gulfstream Park, Santa Anita, Sha Tin and Ascot; there have been a total of 1 winner from each of those courses.
The race is open to both sexes, with male runners having produced a total of 5 winners from a total of 78 runners, while female runners have produced 1 winner from a total of 5 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, there is only one stallion whose offspring have been disappointed with multiple attempts but no wins in the Saudi Cup; that stallion is Dubawi, who has failed to produce a winner from 5 runners.
Looking at the winning odds over the last 6 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Emblem Road in 2022, winning for Moutaib Almulawah at odds of 50/1 under the guidance of Wigberto Ramos. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 6 renewals, there have been 1 winning favourites in the race. All figures and trends above, such as the horse's previous runs, are based on the information that is available on the Racing Post.
Route to the Saudi Cup
Many trainers target races as preparation for the Saudi Cup. These are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:
| Info | Last Race |
|---|---|
| 2025 - Forever Young Ohi - 1st of 10 (3/10) | 70th Tokyo Daishoten |
| 2024 - Senor Buscador Gulfstream Park - 2nd of 12 (99/10) | Pegasus World Cup |
| 2023 - Panthalassa Sha Tin - 10th of 12 (29/5) | Hong Kong Cup |
| 2022 - Emblem Road Janadriyah - 1st of 13 (1/1) | King Faisal Cup |
| 2021 - Mishriff Ascot - 8th of 10 (4/1) | British Champion Stakes |
| 2020 - Midnight Bisou Santa Anita - 2nd of 11 (10/11) | Breeders' Cup Distaff |
Article Contributor Information
We are fortunate to have an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to the creation and maintenance of this Saudi Cup Preview are Andy and James. They both work on the Horse Racing Tips team, overseeing the tipsters and managing the tip settlement, while also creating and managing all the horse racing event previews for International racing.
James Banting
Expert Guide
Andy Powell
Expert Guide
