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The Story Of Mishriff: Saudi Cup Repeat Would Make Him Richest Horse In History

Mishriff will become the highest earning racehorse of all time if he successfully defends his crown in The Saudi Cup on Saturday and the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia has commissioned a short film – The Story of Mishriff – to celebrate his career so far.

Owned and bred by Prince A A Faisal, Mishriff has competed at the first two Saudi Cup meetings and in the film his owner-breeder tells presenter Nick Luck that he looked “horrible” when he first saw pictures of him as a foal before turning into “a proper horse.”

The horse has extra significance for Prince Faisal having been named after his former trainer, Mishriff, who taught him the “Arab way of looking at a horse.” After being reared at Coolmore, Mishriff was sent to John Gosden, who Prince Faisal describes as “the best trainer in the world.”

Gosden says he needed time to fill into his frame when he first came to the yard, but he had a tremendous three-year-old year before showing his versatility by being able to cope with the American pace in The Saudi Cup and then going on to land the Sheema Classic on turf over a mile and a half (2400m).

He says: “The plan has always been to come back again for The Saudi Cup, and it looks a mighty tough field but so it should be.”

David Egan was just 21 years old when winning the race 12 months ago and the Irish jockey describes how much the victory meant to him: “The Saudi Cup meeting has obviously had a huge impact on my life. Prince Faisal, who has been in the racing industry for so long, and to be able to win it with a horse he bred must have been very special for him. For me to be able to deliver that was very heartwarming.”

Finally, Prince Faisal explains the love he has for horses: “Nobody loves racing and horses like Arabs. I just love the horse and I think that people who don't love horses shouldn't have anything to do with racing. This is the whole thing, if you don't enjoy it, leave it.”

The Story of Mishriff was filmed and produced by Equine Productions.

The Story of Mishriff (subtitles) from Equine Productions on Vimeo.

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Fukumoto Guides Barraza To Late-Running San Simeon Victory

With John Velazquez unavailable after the death of his mother in law, Joan O'Brien, Japanese-born Daisuke (pronounced Dice-kay) Fukumoto stepped to the plate and delivered the mail in Sunday's Grade 3, $100,000 San Simeon Stakes at Santa Anita as Holly and David Wilson's Barraza rallied extremely wide to win going away by 2 ¾ lengths. Trained by Vladimir Cerin, Barraza got about 6 ½ furlongs over the Arcadia, Calif., track's hillside turf course in 1:12.66.

In a talent-laden eight-horse field, Barraza was taken in hand out of the gate and ridden confidently as veteran Bombard, race favorite Beer Can Man and French-bred Bran led a merry chase down the hill. With two horses beat approaching the dirt crossing, Fukumoto turned his mount loose but was fanned at least eight-wide by eventual runner-up Indian Peak.

Despite losing considerable ground, Barraza hit another gear when he straightened up turning for home, made the lead a sixteenth out and drew off to win easily while notching his second consecutive stakes win and his fourth win in a row.

“This was my first time down the hill at Santa Anita,” said Fukumoto, who was among the leading riders at Woodbine last year and has won more than 2,000 career races. “I just let the horse get comfortable. I fell a little bit too far behind but (he) just relaxed and I trusted the horse. The horse was doing good, I was just happy to be his jockey.

“My friend (trainer) Brian Koriner, he connected me with Vladimir Cerin. My agent tries for me every day, I got a good horse and that is all. I just want to say thank you to everyone…”

Claimed nine starts back out of a maiden $100,000 claiming win at Santa Anita on April 21, 2021, Barraza now has four wins from six Santa Anita turf starts. With his most recent start resulting in a 2 ¼-length victory in the restricted Clockers' Corner Stakes going six furlongs out of Santa Anita's turf chute on Jan. 22, Barraza was the 2-1 morning line favorite but ended up the second choice at post time.

Off at the 9-5 in a tough field of older horses, Barraza paid $5.60, $3.40 and $2.40.

A 4-year-old colt by Into Mischief out of the multiple graded stakes winning Halo Dolly, by Popular, Barraza now has five wins from 13 starts, four of them over the Santa Anita lawn. With the winner's share of $60,000, he ran his earnings to $257,700.

“I think he is just developing,” said an understated Cerin of Barraza. “He'll go two turns again and I think he'll do it just as well. I had full faith in Daisuke. I left it up to him, to just use his judgement and just sit wherever he wanted to.”

The lone California-bred in the field, Indian Peak drifted wide for home but kept to his task in a big effort, outrunning the favorite late to finish second by a half length. Off at 20-1, Indian Peak paid $15.40 and $6.20.

Beer Can Man, as consistent as they come, settled for third money, a nose better than 9-year-old gelding Bombard. Ridden by Flavien Prat, Beer Can Man was off at 3-2 and paid $2.40 to show.

Fractions on the race were 22.89, 44.69 and 1:06.92.

Racing resumes on Monday with an eight race Presidents' Day program that get underway at 12:30 p.m. Admission gates open at 10:30 a.m. and fans will be treated to one dollar beers and sodas along with two dollar hot dogs.

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Envoutante Could Give McPeek Chance For Beholder Mile Repeat

Trainer Ken McPeek eyes his second straight victory in the Grade 1 Beholder Mile on March 5 at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., this time with Envoutante, a daughter of Uncle Mo that will make her 5-year-old debut in a race named for the four-time Eclipse Award champion and three-time Breeders' Cup winner trained by Hall of Fame member Richard Mandella.

McPeek won last year's Beholder with Swiss Skydiver on March 13. In 2020, Swiss Skydiver captured the Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks. A daughter of Daredevil, Swiss Skydiver was named Eclipse Award champion 3-year-old filly of 2020, defeating males in the Preakness that year.

“Envoutante is going to work next Friday or Saturday, and we're working on travel logistics, but right now the plan is to bring her,” McPeek said by phone Sunday morning after saddling 2-1 favorite Smile Happy to a second-place finish behind Epicenter in Saturday's Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes at the Fair Grounds. “We're also working on a rider.”

In her most recent race, for the second straight year, Envoutante (freely translated from French it's “enchanting” as in an enchanting smile) won the 1 1/8-mile Grade 2 Falls City Stakes last Nov. 25 at Churchill Downs, prompting the pace and drawing off to win by six lengths “geared down.”

Owned by Walking L Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys Farm, Envoutante is out of the stakes-winning Bluegrass Cat mare Enchante and has a 6-2-4 record from 16 starts with earnings of $931,658.

The Beholder offers $500,000 in purse money with $300,000 guaranteed to the winner and $100,000 to the runner-up, so even a second-place finish would make Envoutante a millionaire.

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Japan: Cafe Pharoah Earns BC Classic Berth With Repeat Score In February Stakes

Koichi Nishikawa's 5-year-old Cafe Pharoah surged to the front in the final furlong and captured Sunday's US$2.2 million, one-mile February Stakes (G1) on dirt at Tokyo Racecourse for the second consecutive year with a 2 ½-length win over T M South Dan (JPN) in track record time. With this victory, Cafe Pharoah, ridden by Yuichi Fukunaga, becomes the first horse to earn an automatic starting position into this year's US$6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) through the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series.

Now in its 15th season, the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series is an international series of stakes races whose winners receive automatic starting positions and fees paid into a corresponding race of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, which is scheduled to be held at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky, on Nov. 4-5.

Cafe Pharoah, a son of 2015 U.S. Triple Crown and Breeders' Cup Classic winner American Pharoah, is the first horse to win the February Stakes title consecutively since Copano Rickey (JPN) in 2014 and 2015.

Trained by Noriyuki Hori, Cafe Pharoah bounced back remarkably after going winless in his three previous starts last season which included an 11th-place disappointment in the other JRA-G1 dirt event, the Champions Cup (dirt, 1,800m) last December. Cafe Pharoah now has four wins out of four starts in dirt mile races at Tokyo Racecourse. This triumph marked Hori's 14th JRA-G1 title—his latest was last year's February Stakes victory, and jockey Fukunaga's 33rd overall JRA-G1 title following the Japan Cup (G1) triumph last autumn with Contrail (JPN). Fukunaga claimed the 2005 February Stakes title with Meisho Bowler (JPN).

Cafe Pharoah, who was bred in Kentucky by the late Paul Pompa, completed the mile in 1:33.8 over a muddy track, establishing a stakes and course record.

Last year, Cafe Pharoah became the first son of American Pharoah to win a Graded/Group 1 race on dirt, when he won captured the February Stakes by three-quarters of a length. Today's win improved his record to six wins in 11 starts.

Under drizzling conditions for the 39th February Stakes, the 16-horse field broke evenly in the corner of the backstretch with T M South Dan eventually taking over the lead to set the pace. Running in sixth, Cafe Pharoah, the 5-1 second choice, made headway from the third corner and hit the straight three wide and in third place, a half-length behind the 4-year-old filly Sodashi (JPN), who was in second. Promptly putting away Sodashi and then inheriting the lead from the pacesetter right after the furlong marker, the defending champion romped to the line for the victory.

“Mr. Hori and I went over the tactics before the race and everything went as planned,” commented winning rider Fukunaga. “Cafe Pharoah's start wasn't that sharp, but he recovered well and we were able to sit in a good position in third, where he didn't have to bear too much sand in his face. After that I just tried to keep him focused, especially after taking over the lead in the final stages. I'm grateful to the connections who offered me this ride even before I had fully recovered from the fall in Hong Kong [Hong Kong Sprint (G1), Dec. 12] and am happy that I was able to do a good job.”

Fifth pick T M South Dan made headway after breaking from the 15^th post, set the pace with 1,200 meters to go and sustained his lead. Although succumbing to the winner's speed in the last furlong, he held on well to secure the runner-up position by half a length. Fourth choice Sodashi tracked the leaders in third, advanced to second rounding the final corner, ran willingly inside the eventual winner but was caught 300 meters out and while failing to pin T M South Dan, rejected the challenges by the late chargers to finish third by a neck. Red le Zele (JPN), the 3.9-1 favorite, was ridden most of the way in midpack, found himself in tight quarters in early stretch and was unable to fire thereafter, finishing sixth.

As a part of the benefits of the Challenge series, the Breeders' Cup will pay the pre-entry and entry fees for Cafe Pharoah to start in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, which will be run a 1 ¼ miles on the main track at Keeneland. Breeders' Cup will also provide a US$40,000 travel allowance for all starters based outside of North America to compete in the Championships.

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