Midnight Bisou On Track for Saudi Cup Challenge

Midnight Bisou was among notable names, along with Maximum Security and McKinzie, to skip the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes Presented by Runhappy (G1). Instead, all three are pointing toward the first Saudi Cup Feb. 29 at King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. They will be joined by Pegasus Cup winner Mucho Gusto.

Jeff Bloom, who owns the 5-year-old mare, said Midnight Bisou is ready for her first test against males.

"She's doing really well. In talking with (trainer Steve Asmussen), if it's possible, she's doing better than ever before, which makes you feel pretty good considering the campaign she had last year," Bloom said. "We're excited. She had a little breather after the Breeders' Cup, but she's back in the swing of things now. Her work the other day (five furlongs in 1:00 3/5 Jan. 21 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots) was off-the-charts impressive."

Midnight Bisou, named the champion older dirt female at the Jan. 23 Eclipse Awards, won seven of her eight starts in 2019 for Bloom Racing Stable, Madaket Stables, and Allen Racing, with the lone loss coming in a runner-up finish in the Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1). Coming off a layoff of nearly four months, the earner of $3.75 million will be facing the toughest challenge of her career, but Bloom expected as much from a race with a $20 million purse.

"When you run for $20 million, you expect to see the best horses in the world," Bloom said. "It's a showcase event for a lot of money, and we hope our mare is best that day."

Bloom said a strong showing in Saudi Arabia could punch Midnight Bisou's ticket to a trip to Dubai for the $12 million Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1) March 28 at Meydan Racecourse.

"It would make a lot of sense to run in Dubai if she does well in the Saudi Cup," he said. "It's only a hop-skip-and-a-jump away. That would be the wise thing to do. This is a different situation with two races worth $32 million about a month apart."

McKinzie Fresh for International Dates

Trainer Bob Baffert expressed delight with how McKinzie has been training for the 1 1/8-mile, one-turn test overseas. The Hall of Fame trainer said McKinzie is fit enough to run in the Pegasus, but the plan is to run Karl Watson, Michael Pegram, and Paul Weitman's 5-year-old son of Street Sense fresh in the Saudi Cup and then move on to the Dubai World Cup if all goes well.

"(McKinzie is) doing great. We'll start prepping him this week to get him ready for the Saudi Cup. I've been going easy with him. He could have run (in the Pegasus), he's so fit," Baffert said. "But he runs well fresh, and I'm trying to go over there for the Saudi and Dubai races. You never know if it's the right move until you get the check in your hand, but those races seem the best way to go."

A winner of four grade 1 stakes with $3.3 million in earnings, McKinzie has not raced since finishing second Nov. 2 in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1).

Game Winner Progresses Toward 4-Year-Old Season

Baffert also raved about the progress 2018 2-year-old champion Game Winner has made as he works toward his first start since July 13 when he captured the Los Alamitos Derby (G3) for his fifth win in eight starts. Baffert said a tentative target for Gary and Mary West's 4-year-old would be the Alysheba Stakes Presented by Sentient Jet (G2), a race McKinzie won last year on Kentucky Oaks Day at Churchill Downs.

"Game Winner has never looked this good. He's just starting to gallop and should be ready to run by the end of April. We'll start breezing him in a couple of months," Baffert said. "I was always playing catch-up with him. I sat on him way too long last year."