In the 2023 Riyadh Dirt Sprint at King Abdulaziz Racecourse, the Steve Asmussen-trained Gunite ran a winning race but could only finish second to the Bill Mott-trained Elite Power, the best dirt sprinter in the world. On Saturday, it’s Asmussen who has the horse to beat, Skelly, while Mott makes a repeat bid with Bold Journey, a solid sprinter but nothing like Elite Power. Neither American horse has yet proven to be top class, though Skelly could be on his way, and the $1.5 million contest did not draw a daunting field. Run over 1,200 meters, about six furlongs, the Dirt Sprint lured a dozen entrants before Bakeel was scratched, and Skelly drew very well in post 9. Whether he can take advantage of a favorable setup is another question. Asmussen has been a regular participant in Saudi Cup races and his horses generally have performed well, but Skelly must adapt to circumstances unlike any he has faced. A winner of seven straight races, Skelly has raced at Ellis Park, Churchill Downs, Oaklawn Park, and Lone Star Park, and in all 12 of his outings he has run out of his own stall. Skelly has been particularly effective at Oaklawn, where he was an easy winner of a Dec. 30 allowance race and the King Cotton Stakes on Feb. 3 following a six-month layoff. Skelly has about as much speed as is possible in a Thoroughbred, and from this post position, regular rider Ricardo Santana Jr. can ease his mount onto the lead while staying outside his main pace rival, the Japanese speedster Jasper Krone. With that kind of trip and a performance up to his baseline, Skelly wins. :: Bet with the Best! Get FREE All-Access PPs and Weekly Cashback when you wager on DRF Bets. Bold Journey carries a three-race winning streak of his own, though his highest Beyer Speed Figure, 100, won’t beat an in-form Skelly, and that figure came over a muddy track Dec. 30 at Aqueduct. Dubai-based Tuz might contend if he can avoid regressing from a peak performance Jan. 5, when he won the Dubawi Stakes by more than eight lengths. And Saudi-based Rebellious Stage, who started his career last summer in Maryland with trainer Brittany Russell, might have a legitimate chance. Rebellious Stage has won all five of his Saudi starts and on Jan. 6 was much the best in the local prep for this race. He’ll need to work his way to the outside from post 2, and in Skelly, he’ll be chasing a faster horse than he’s ever met. Saudi Derby The crack New Jersey-bred Book’em Danno has a real chance to win the $1.5 million Saudi Derby, provided he classes up with some talented Japanese opposition. Trained by Derek Ryan for the New Jersey-based partnership Atlantic Six Racing, Book’em Danno has won five of his six starts, and Ryan believes the gelding ought to be undefeated. Book’em Danno performs best with a target, but wound up leading the Nov. 5 Nashua Stakes, where he was passed late by Where’s Chris, an inferior opponent. Sent to winter at Tampa Bay Downs, Book’em Danno raced for the first time since the Nashua in the seven-furlong Pasco Stakes on Jan. 13. He won by 12 1/2 lengths and was even more visually impressive than the margin of victory. Galloping along well behind the early leaders, Book’em Danno looped the field on the turn while barely being asked and cruised home the easiest of winners. Connections already had circled the Saudi Derby, and Book’em Danno has been posting bullet workouts preparing for this start. Irad Ortiz Jr. rides the Bucchero gelding for the first time. The connections of Forever Young, 3 for 3 in Japanese dirt races, hope the colt proves worthy of a start in the Kentucky Derby, his path to that race running through the UAE Derby next month in Dubai. Forever Young has won his races with ease and travels like a very good colt, but he tries a one-turn contest for the first time and surely will not be at his best Saturday. Neom Turf Cup Racing 1 1/4 miles under familiar conditions, Luxembourg would dominate his rivals in the $2 million Neom Turf Cup. But this is a 1 3/8-mile race in an unfamiliar land, and Luxembourg also must cope with post 13 Saturday. Nonetheless, Luxembourg, Ryan Moore riding for trainer Aidan O’Brien and Coolmore, still figures to win the Neom Turf Cup, especially over the sort of firm going he prefers. Luxembourg’s top performances – a win in the 2022 Irish Champion and a good second behind Auguste Rodin in the 2023 renewal, and a narrow defeat Dec. 10 in Hong Kong to Romantic Warrior, one of the top 10-furlong runners in the world – would swamp this field :: Get the Inside Track with the FREE DRF Morning Line Email Newsletter. Subscribe now.  His chief competition should come from The Foxes, who shipped from England to New York last summer and was second in the Belmont Derby, and the Japanese horse Hearts Concerto, who prefers a longer trip. ◗ With Casa Creed taken out of the race by an untimely fever, American audiences will find few familiar names in the 1351 Turf Sprint, which drew a generally inscrutable field of 14. ◗ Giavellotto, a fast-ground horse with the top performance level in the race, is an appealing wager in the 1 7/8-mile Red Sea Turf Cup. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.