U.S. trainer Brad Cox is preparing to challenge for the $20 million Saudi Cup on February 14 with Bishops Bay, a recent high-profile acquisition. The horse impressed with a win in the Cigar Mile Handicap last month. Cox also enters My World in the supporting Saudi Derby.
Brad Cox, a trainer with an impressive tally of 240 graded or group-stakes victories—including 59 at Grade 1 level—is heading to Saudi Arabia for his fourth attempt at the prestigious Saudi Cup. This Group 1 race, offering a $20 million purse, takes place on February 14 at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh. Cox's closest prior result was a third-place finish with Saudi Crown in 2024, following a fourth with Knicks Go in 2021 and a ninth with Mandaloun in 2022.
His entry, Bishops Bay, was bought for $1.3 million by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and Sons’ White Stables at Keeneland shortly before securing victory in Aqueduct's Cigar Mile Handicap (G2) on December 6. The four-year-old had previously triumphed in the Forty Niner Stakes (G3) over the same one-turn mile distance. Cox highlighted the horse's resilience: “Anytime these horses leave their environment like he had to, going to the Keeneland sale, then on a van the next day right back to Belmont, N.Y., before shipping like he did over to Aqueduct and winning a big race – that just shows us already that he’s able to overcome things.”
The trainer expressed confidence in Bishops Bay's preparation, noting a recent workout that felt like Grade 1 quality. “I loved his last breeze going into this race. It was all we could ask for,” Cox said, adding optimism about extending the distance by an eighth of a mile. Jockey Junior Alvarado, last year's Saudi Cup winner, will ride.
Complementing this effort, Cox runs My World in the $1.5 million Saudi Derby (G3), a new points qualifier for the Kentucky Derby. The three-year-old arrives off wins in the Nashua Stakes and Jerome Stakes. “He’s working well, he’s fit and he’s ready,” Cox noted, emphasizing the race's suitability. Irad Ortiz Jr. takes the mount. This international venture keeps Derby aspirations alive while chasing substantial purses.
