The Saudi Cup 2023: Post Positions, Odds, And Taiba’s Battle With Country Grammer For An Eye-Watering $20 Million Purse

As we know, when $20 million dollars is in play, it will drag a lot of people out of the woodwork to get at the big lucre. Currently the world’s richest horse race and a central winter season fixture now in its fourth year, the 2023 running of the Saudi Cup has, unsurprisingly, become a major date on the winter calendar not unlike the Breeders’. Put more precisely, the purse for the Saudi Cup is 3.3 times fatter than that of the Breeders’ Cup Classic, 6.6 times richer than of the Kentucky Derby.

The field is led by the strong favorite, the four-year-old Taiba, trained by none other than Bob Baffert, followed closely in the early odds by Country Grammer. Last year’s winner, the locally-owned but Kentucky-bred Emblem Road, is definitely in back in the mix this year, to see if he can somehow make lightning strike twice for his estimable owner, Prince Saud bin Salman al Saud, son of the king and half-brother to the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman.

And yet, for its geographical distance from the tracks in the States, and to a certain extent from those of Europe, the Saudi show draws a far more eclectic field than either of those two pinnacle events in the States. By contrast, the Japanese owners have taken to Saudi Arabia and its Cup with great gusto. With two days of racing on February 24-25, at present there are thirteen entries in the $20-million-dollar race, five US-bred horses, three from Ireland, and five from Japan.

The field is led by the strong favorite, the four-year-old Taiba, trained by none other than Bob Baffert, followed closely in the early odds by Country Grammer. Last year’s winner, the locally-owned but Kentucky-bred Emblem Road, is definitely in back in the mix this year, to see if he can somehow make lightning strike twice for his estimable owner, Prince Saud bin Salman al Saud, son of the king and half-brother to the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman.

But before we parse who in this international mashup will try to take the top favorites down, herewith, the post positions and early odds. Note: the Irish entries have no odds in London at the moment but we’ll add them as they roll in.

(Post Position, Horse, Early London Odds)

1 Café Pharoah (USA), 14-1

2 Country Grammer (USA), 4-1

3 Crown Pride (JPN), 12-1

4 Emblem Road (USA), 12-1

5 Geoglyph (JPN), 16-1

6 Jun Light Bolt (JPN), 8-1

7 Panthalassa (JPN), 16-1

8 Remorse (IRE)

9 Scotland Yard (USA), 14-1

10 Taiba (USA), 7-4

11 Vin de Garde (JPN), 25-1

12 Lagertha Rhyme (IRE)

13 Sunset Flash (IRE)

(Source for Post Positions: the Saudi Cup; Odds: William Hill, 2/22/2023)