Mishriff could finish only second in the Saudi Derby while racing on the Saudi Cup undercard a year ago, but, back in Saudi Arabia for the big race itself, he wore down Charlatan to win the second $20 million Saudi Cup by one length Saturday at King Abdulaziz Racecourse. The race was framed in great part as a two-horse matchup between Charlatan and Knicks Go, and it was, but only to the top of the stretch. There, Charlatan on the outside put away Knicks Go on the inside, but Mishriff, who was able to stick surprisingly close to the leaders, took aim on Charlatan at the furlong grounds. He caught him with 100 yards left and pushed clear to hand victory to 21-year-old jockey David Egan, trainer John Gosden, and owner-breeder Faisal al Salman, a key member of the Saudi ruling family.  “He’s a brave horse in what was a truly run race,” said Gosden, who watched the Saudi Cup from England, where Mishriff was prepped for this performance. “We were in quite deep snow preparing this horse back home, and maybe that’s the secret.” :: Want to get your Past Performances for free? Click to learn more. Mishriff, a 4-year-old by Make Believe out of Contradict, by Raven’s Pass, now is a major-race winner on turf and dirt having captured the Prix du Jockey Club, the French Derby, last season.  “I think there are very few horses that can switch surface like that,” Gosden said. Egan is a retained rider for al Salman but, because of COVID-19 travel restrictions, was unable to ride the colt in two French starts last summer. When Mishriff raced in England last fall, failing to handle boggy conditions in the Champion Stakes, Frankie Dettori kept the mount, but Egan was back aboard for the Saudi Cup and did everything right. Mishriff, leaving from an outside gate, actually broke on top and led before Charlatan in the middle and Knicks Go to the inside came through to set the tempo. Egan settled Mishriff right behind Mike Smith and Charlatan as the horses ran down the backstretch in this one-turn, 1 1/8-mile contest, Smith and Joel Rosario on Knicks Go playing a game of cat and mouse. Knicks Go pushed forward into the far turn to poke his head in front, Charlatan quickly countering to assume command again as the leaders swept past the three-eighths pole and angled into the homestretch. Even before coming off the turn, Egan had cropped Mishriff, riding hard to keep his mount in close contact, and Mishriff responded favorably. Charlatan pulled away from Knicks Go at the head of the stretch and had a couple lengths on Mishriff, but Egan kept working and Mishriff, racing on his wrong lead, closed the gap, drawing even with a half-furlong to run and pulling clear. “He’s an absolute champion,” Egan said. “It’s really important to get a good jump and today I was really surprised to travel so well behind the leaders. He got even with them and ran them off.” Mishriff, who paid a generous $41.60 on the North American tote, was clocked in 1:49.59 for the 1,800 meters, 1.1 seconds faster than Maximum Security’s winning time in 2020. Great Scot, a Saudi horse, finished a fine third, 6 1/2 lengths behind Charlatan. Then came Knicks Go, Sleepy Eyes Todd, Military Law, Tacitus, Bangkok, Chuwa Wizard, Derevo, Max Player, Global Giant, Extra Elusive, and Simsir. Mishriff never has raced beyond 1 5/16 miles, but has gotten some early support for the 2021 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe over 1 1/2 miles. In the near term, the 1 1/4-mile Dubai World Cup on March 27 could be an appealing option. Gosden said, though, he’d bring Mishriff back to wintry England and assess the options over the next 10 days or two weeks. On this day, in the world’s richest race, Mishriff beat the American dirt horses at their own game.