Cyclone State

When Iowa-bred Cyclone State (McKinzie) breaks out of the starting gate for Saturday's $1.5-million G3 Saudi Derby, part of the Saudi Cup undercard at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh, odds are that the loudest cheers will be emanating from halfway across the world at the Iowa State University (ISU) Equine Farm. That is where the colt, bred by Allen Poindexter, was born on April 29, 2022. It's an evening foaling that Nikki Ferwerda, a faculty member of the ISU Animal Science department and manager of the university's equine facilities, still...

RIYADH, KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA -- Owner Al Gold knows that you can't win if you don't play, and the New Jersey native has not one, but two cracks at a nice payday on Saturday's Saudi Cup undercard at King Abdulaziz Racecourse here in Riyadh. Gold, who did not make the trip over to Saudi Arabia, but will be watching from the comfort of his winter home in Florida, campaigns Cyclone State (McKinzie) in partnership with George Messina and Michael Lee, as the $70,000 Keeneland September yearling looks to extend...

My Racehorse's newly crowned Eclipse champion sprinter Straight No Chaser (Speightster) breezed five furlongs in :59 flat (3/98) over the Santa Anita main track Sunday morning and is set to board the first of two flights Tuesday which will carry him to Saudi Arabia for the $2-million G2 Riyadh Dirt Sprint (1200m) on Feb. 22. Hall of Famer John Velazquez has the return call. "We gave him a little company just to kind of get him to relax and settle off a horse and he did it really nicely and...

After fielding a team of four for last year's $20-million G1 Saudi Cup, a maximum of three horses and as few as just one horse already on the ground in Riyadh, could make up the American challenge for the 2025 renewal to be contested Saturday, Feb. 22 at King Abdulaziz Racetrack on the outskirts of the Saudi capital. Three of the four horses that took part in last year's running were each possible for a return trip, but none will ultimately travel. Last year's winner Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) was to...

A total of 1,123 entries, including 81 Group or Grade I winners from no fewer than 21 racing jurisdictions from all over the world were received for the 2025 Saudi Cup meeting, to be held Friday and Saturday, Feb. 21 and 22 and King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh. The entries were released Friday by the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA). (See TDN Europe for the entries to the meeting's turf events) Some $38.1 million in prize money will be on offer over the course of the weekend, headed up...

Prep season for the GI Kentucky Derby is still in its earliest stages, but a couple of races over the weekend gave us some things to get excited about. It appears, in GII San Vicente Stakes winner Barnes (Into Mischief), we have an early Derby favorite that could give Bob Baffert his first official Derby win since Authentic (Into Mischief) in 2020 in what would be his return to America's most famous race after the Churchill ban. Sold for $3.2 million at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga, this could be a special horse....

Gold Square, George Messina and Michael Lee's Cyclone State (McKinzie), winner of Saturday's Jerome Stakes at the Big A, may contest the one-mile G3 Saudi Derby on Feb. 22 at King Abdulaziz Racecourse or remain local for the one-mile GIII Gotham on Mar. 1--a 50-25-15-10-5 points race for the Kentucky Derby. "He's doing good. He stepped on my foot but otherwise he's doing good," trainer Chad Summers said, with a laugh. "He came out of it good." The Big A also offers the nine-furlong GIII Withers on Feb. 1, offering...

Out the fastest and never giving his rivals a chance, Cyclone State (c, 3, McKinzie--Chanel's Legacy, by Dominus) picked up an easy 10 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby with an eye-catching gate-to-wire win in the Jerome Stakes. Sent to the lead early under Luis Rivera, Jr. despite acting up in the gate, the 3-1 shot never seemed anything but a winner as he posted fractions of :23.43, :47.25, and 1:13.20 as he coasted into the lane with an eight-length advantage. Kept to business as Omaha Omaha (Audible)...