Santa Anita

McKinzie targeting Saudi Cup

Steve Andersen|Jan 05, 2020

McKinzie comeback after 2019 Breeders' Cup Classic

Julie Wright McKinzie following his runner-up finish in the 2019 BC Classic.

ARCADIA, Calif. – McKinzie, the six-time stakes winner who was second in the Breeders’ Cup Classic in November, will have his 2020 debut in the $20 million Saudi Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Feb. 29, trainer Bob Baffert said on Sunday.

A finalist for the Eclipse Award as the outstanding older male of 2019, McKinzie has not started since the BC Classic on Nov. 2 and is not expected to start in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 25, Baffert said.

“He’s the sort of horse I can get ready off works,” Baffert said.

The Saudi Cup, which is being held for the first time this year, is run at 1 1/8 miles. Owned by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman, the 5-year-old McKinzie has won 7 of 14 starts and earned $3,318,560.

McKinzie won 2 of 7 starts in 2019, a season highlighted by a win in the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes at Saratoga in August. After the Whitney Stakes, McKinzie was second in the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita on Sept. 28 in a prep for the BC Classic.

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