Five-Strong Team For Jimmy Jerkens At The Saudi Cup Meeting

Johnny Velazquez, Joel Rosario and Luis Saez to team up with US Grade 1-winning trainer in Riyadh

Monday 19th February 2024 – After joining the Saudi Arabian training ranks just last year, multiple Grade 1-winning US trainer Jimmy Jerkens is set to field five runners in the colours of the Red Stable at this year’s two-day Saudi Cup meeting.

Jerkens, who relocated to Saudi Arabia in May 2023 to train for HRH Prince Faisal bin Khaled bin Abdulaziz, has so far had 21 winners from 129 runners, with a notable highlight being a first domestic Group 1 success in The Crown Prince Cup with My Frankel.

The former Sir Michael Stoute-trained son of Frankel will line up in Saturday’s $500k National Housing Company Saudi International Handicap over 2100m on the turf course, and will be joined by another former UK-trained runner in Jerkens’ Finest Sound.

Jerkens said: “Both of them haven’t been on the turf in a while. My Frankel has run three times all on the dirt here, but it’s hard to believe a Frankel wouldn’t take to the turf.

“James Doyle did a fantastic job on him last time [in the Crown Prince Cup], because going by the stands first time it looked like he wanted to get rank, but he got him back and settled by the time they went down the back and it just won the race. I’m hoping he’ll do the same on the turf under Johnny [Velazquez]. Johnny is going to ride My Frankel and Joel Rosario will ride Finest Sound.

“I won’t say Finest Sound has run bad here on the dirt, but they’ve got to run so fast early here, it’s almost like a long sprint, and I think it’s been telling on him lately. He’s a classy horse though and I’m hoping he can make the switch back to turf and be a force.”

Jerkens is also set to field Grocer Jack, a former Listed winner on turf in the UK for William Haggas, in the G2 Howden Neom Turf Cup, and the American handler is hoping his charge will bear up to the strong international competition in the 2100m contest.

“Grocer Jack had his first run for me back in October, when he finished second in a JCSA Award and then we ran him in a Cup race and he ran awful. We thought ‘Oh man, we’re in trouble here,’ after that, but we got him back on track. We had him in lots of different races, but we scratched him as we just weren’t confident, so we waited for the turf and he happened to run really well [to win the Neom Turf Cup qualifier]. Nawaf Almudiani, who works for us, rode him that day and couldn’t have ridden him any nicer – he got him settled perfectly,” Jerkens said.

When asked whether Grocer Jack can be competitive tackling International Group race winners such as the Aidan O’Brien-trained Luxembourg and the Sir Alex Ferguson-owned Spirit Dancer, Jerkens added: “I’d like to think so. At least he has the race from last time under his belt. I think he needs to improve, but hopefully he can hold his own and we just have to give it a try.”

Former Andre Fabre-trained First Minister runs for Jerkens in the Group 3 Longines Red Sea Turf Handicap – the penultimate race on The Saudi Cup night – over 3000m, and Jerkens is hopeful rather than confident he will be suited by the trip.

“Who wants to go that far, I really don’t know!”, he said. “From what I hear from where he came from, he acted as though they couldn’t ride him long enough. I ran him on the dirt here and he didn’t lift a hoof. Then we ran him in Grocer Jack’s race and he ran deceptively well to be beaten only three lengths. He came with a good run, but looked to hang a bit at the finish. I don’t know if going this far is going to be his bag, but I don’t know if it’s going to suit any of the others either! Luis Saez is going to ride him.”

Saez will also be aboard the Jerkens-trained Derevo in the $500k Lucid Tuwaiq Cup (1800m on dirt) on the first day of The Saudi Cup meeting on 23 February, while Jerkens other runner on the Friday will be Luigi Vampa in the Invest Saudi International Jockey’s Challenge R4, over 2100m on turf.

Jerkens heads into his first Saudi Cup meeting with five live chances, but marked My Frankel down as perhaps being the best among them.

“I would have to say My Frankel, because of his consistency and he has such easy tactical speed, which I always like that. I think he’s kind of a push button horse, and those types of horses are easier for a jockey to keep out of trouble.”

**ENDS**