Fresu to ride Defunded in Saudi Cup

Antonio Fresu, who through Thursday had won 14 races at the current Santa Anita winter-spring meeting, including six stakes, will miss Friday and Saturday’s programs at Santa Anita to ride Saturday’s $20 million Saudi Cup in Saudi Arabia.

Fresu is booked to ride the outsider Defunded, a 7-year-old who won an allowance race in Saudi Arabia in January. Earlier in his career, Defunded was based with trainer Bob Baffert in California when he won consecutive stakes in the Grade 2 Californian Stakes and Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup in the spring of 2023. In late 2023, Defunded was sold to Saudi Arabian interests and transferred to that country.

Fresu is scheduled to return to Santa Anita in time to ride four mounts in the second half of Sunday’s program.

Flavien Prat leads all riders at Santa Anita with 34 wins, but Fresu and Prat are tied for most stakes wins for the season, which began on Dec. 26.

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