From the desert of New Mexico to the desert of the Middle East, Senor Buscador broke through to the big time at just the right time to win the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1) over a world-class field Feb. 24 at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh.
Just short of one year earlier, Senor Buscador was running at Sunland Park in New Mexico—winning there, too.
The 6-year-old son of Mineshaft rallied from far back in the Saudi Cup field as the early pace collapsed. Under a confident ride by Junior Alvarado, Senor Buscador passed most of the field in the final 300 meters of the 1,800 meters (about 1 1/8 miles) over the Saudi dirt.
At the end, Senor Buscador not only edged Japanese star Ushba Tesoro by a head for the victory but, in the process, avenged losses in in his past two races to White Abarrio , National Treasure, Derma Sotogake , and Hoist the Gold .
Asked if he was confident going into the race, trainer Todd Fincher, a long-time New Mexican, said, “No. Something bad always happens to him. He had 11 horses to weave in and out of. We knew he was going to run good. We just had to hope he’d get through.”
Get through he did. But then, Alvarado said, his job wasn’t done.
“He was unbelievable,” the jockey exulted. “That horse that finished second passed us at the sixteenth pole. I was saying, ‘C’mon boy. C’mon boy. Keep going here.’ He kept going right down to the wire.”
Bred by Joe Peacock and his son, Joe Peacock Jr., Senor Buscador is out of their mare Rose’s Desert , by Desert God. He started his career in Louisiana and briefly was on the Triple Crown trail in 2021—an experiment that ended after a fifth-place finish in the Risen Star Stakes (G2) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.
He then traveled the country, contesting stakes races from Arkansas to California and back to New York, with mixed success. There was even a stop in Fincher’s old stomping ground in the Land of Enchantment, where he won the Curribot Handicap at Sunland Park March 5, 2023—just two weeks short of one year before the Saudi triumph.
“We always knew he’d put it together,” said the younger Peacock. “We didn’t know it would be for the Saudi Cup.”
Becoming emotional at the post-race news conference, he added, “My (late) father and I started in racing about 55 years ago. This is the last horse my dad and I bred together.”
In his three previous races, Senor Buscador had finished seventh in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), behind White Abarrio and Derma Sotogake among others in November; second in the Cigar Mile Handicap (G2), behind Hoist the Gold in December; and second in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1), behind National Treasure in January. All of those rivals were behind him at the finish of the Saudi Cup.
White Abarrio finished 10th—a major disappointment for the Breeders’ Cup and Whitney Stakes (G1) winner. Derma Sotogake was fifth. Saudi Crown finished third, three-quarters of a length ahead of last year’s Preakness Stakes (G1) winner National Treasure in fourth, another disappointment for trainer Bob Baffert, whose horses had finished second the three previous years. Cigar winner Hoist the Gold was last of 14 home in the Saudi Cup.
It was the fifth running of the Saudi Cup, which distributes half of the purse to the winning connections.
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While the day’s feature was the world’s richest race with the emphasis on Thoroughbreds from racing’s prime jurisdictions, there was something for everyone on the program.
Purebred Arabians are a passion in the Kingdom and the day’s co-feature for them was the $2 million Obaiya Arabian Classic (G1) at 2,000 meters on the dirt.
The race attracted international competition but that was of little matter to the local star, Asfan Al Khalediah, who kicked loose in the stretch to win 4 1/4 lengths, remaining undefeated after 14 starts. French-breds finished second and third and the lone American-bred, Honey Proof, reported seventh.
Asfan Al Khalediah, a gray 5-year-old, is owned by his breeder, Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Bin Abdulaziz.
The $500,000 Saudi International Handicap was inaugurated by the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia to shine a light on racing jurisdictions outside Part 1 of the international rankings. This year’s running at 2,100 meters (about 1 5/16 miles) on the turf drew entries from Bahrain, Qatar, Spain, Norway and the Czech Republic as well as Saudi Arabia.
King Shalaa , second in the same race two years ago and ninth in 2023, finally got the job done for Qatar, defeating local runner My Frankel.
