Brad Cox could not beat Mishriff with Knicks Go. Maybe he will get him Saturday with Mandaloun. Those two excellent racehorses are joined by a dozen others in the $20 million Saudi Cup, given international Group 1 status for this, its third renewal. Knicks Go, who would go on to become the North American Horse of the Year during 2021, faded to fourth in the 2021 Saudi Cup, unable to produce his best form in the 1,800-meter race’s one-turn configuration. Mishriff, meanwhile, had been prepared for the race in snowy England and came to Saudi Arabia without a prep, but under David Egan, who rides again Saturday, he took the measure of high-level American miler Charlatan by one length. Get free past performances for the Saudi Cup card here. “The plan was always to come back again,” said John Gosden, who co-trains Mishriff with his son, Thady. “It looks a mighty tough field, but so it should be.” Mandaloun last year rated among the top members of the 2018 foal crop and his first race back from a July-to-January layoff, the Louisiana Stakes on Jan. 22, revealed a colt seemingly improved with maturity. Mandaloun beat Midnight Bourbon by three-quarters of a length in the Louisiana, and the two colts meet for the seventh time Saturday at King Abdulaziz Racecourse. Grade 1 winner Art Collector shipped for trainer Bill Mott from Florida, Grade 1 winner Country Grammer from California for trainer Bob Baffert. Country Grammer hasn’t raced since May and has a difficult draw on the rail. :: Wagering on the Saudi Cup and the Saudi Cup Pick 6 is available now on DRF Bets Breeders’ Cup Distaff winner Marche Lorraine also runs but isn’t as good as her Japanese counterpart, T O Keynes, who exits the best race of his life. The French horse Sealiway beat fourth-place Mishriff in their common last start, the Group 1 Champion Stakes in October, but has neither dirt experience nor a dirt pedigree. Aero Trem is a multiple Grade 1 dirt winner in Uruguay, of all places, and France-based Magny Cours managed third in the 2021 Dubai World Cup. Horses based in Saudi Arabia and Dubai fill out the remainder of the 14-horse field. The Saudi Cup is the last of eight races, six of them stakes, with post time set for 12:35 p.m. Eastern. A high temperature near 90 degrees will have eased by post time, and American trainers will be closely watching for water trucks dampening a dirt surface that can become, by many accounts, loose and tiring. This could be a milestone week for Mishriff, who already has banked more than $15.1 million for his Saudi owner and breeder, A A Faisal, and would pass the retired Australian star Winx as the highest-earning Thoroughbred should he scoop the $10 million winner’s share of the pot. Mishriff breaks from post 14 but won last year from post 12. With a very long run down the back straightaway to the turn, Egan should have ample time to find position. Mishriff, a remarkably versatile horse who has a Group 1 win over 1 1/2 miles on turf, showed surprising speed in the 2021 Saudi Cup, Egan always able to keep the leaders in range. :: Take your handicapping to the next level and play like a pro with free Formulator, DRF's premium data product This, to an extent, was a milestone week for Mandaloun, who finished second but was placed first in the 2021 Kentucky Derby after first-place finisher Medina Spirit officially was disqualified because of a medication violation. Mandaloun, bred and owned by Juddmonte Farms, another Saudi-driven operation, had what looked like an ideal comeback race in the Louisiana, appearing to tire just a bit in deep stretch after traveling beautifully around the far turn and catching pacesetting Midnight Bourbon in upper stretch. Cox, now a two-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer, wanted a hard enough race to move Mandaloun forward but not so hard as to set him back, and Mandaloun has worked like a bear in subsequent weeks. His final major breeze for the Saudi Cup, six furlongs in 1:11.80 with a robust one-mile gallop-out, left Cox enthused. “He’s come back bigger and stronger,” Cox said. After the Louisiana, jockey Florent Geroux “as soon as he came back said that he was a more polished horse mentally. That gives us a lot of confidence moving forward.” Midnight Bourbon only has two wins from 14 starts, but kept top company throughout 2021 and will be a forward factor under Joel Rosario, though it’s Art Collector who might be overlooked. Mott said bruising in the colt’s feet contributed to his disappointing and distant sixth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. And Art Collector’s Woodward, run at the Saudi Cup distance and his only one-turn race since he joined Mott’s barn last summer, yielded a comfortable win over high-class Maxfield and a career-best 107 Beyer Speed Figure. Marche Lorraine’s 50-1 BC Distaff upset was pace-aided, the mare coming from 10 lengths behind a wicked tempo, but T O Keynes has tactical speed and can make his own race. It can be difficult assessing Japanese dirt form on the international stage, but there’s no doubt T O Keynes was at the top of his game beating 15 foes on Dec. 5 in the Group 1, $1.6 million Champions Cup, which he won by six lengths. T O Keynes stalked the leaders and came boldly between horses to earn his eighth victory, all on dirt. And whichever steed snags this strong renewal of the world’s richest horse race will very much have earned it.