Angus McNae's top tips for the Saudi Cup meeting on Saturday

The richest race in the history of horse racing will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday. The big race is a nine-furlong contest on dirt worth $10 million to the winner.

The prize money has lured top-class dirt performers from all over the world and that is no surprise given the substantial prize money goes down to tenth place.

The undercard mixes dirt and turf action and has also attracted decent fields.

What effect a hard dirt-race has on horses being targeted at the Dubai World Cup, which is just a month away, is hard to know but with this big-race four weeks after the Pegasus, and a month away from the Dubai World Cup, horses, albeit only the hardiest, have a chance of earning massive pay cheques in the space of two months.

This trilogy serves to present dirt racing in a much more positive light after the negativity that has emanated from Santa Anita lately.

I provide you with four selections, but we must note we have no idea how the dirt or turf tracks are going to ride.

I have long been a fan of this mare , all the more so after her fast time win in the Nassau stakes at Goodwood last season.

She recorded an excellent final quarter-mile speed figure to win going away there. Once again she flashed her talent in the Irish Champion Stakes where, having been poorly positioned and hampered, she flashed home and can be rated as at least as good on the day as the winner, Magical.

Her latest run in December 2019 in the Hong Kong Vase was perfectly respectable at a time of year that may not have seen her at her best.

A break will have refreshed her and she can gain a deserved success against opponents who have not shown as much as her. She looks very solid.

At his best, Cross Counter is much better than these. This Dubai Gold Cup and Melbourne Cup winner knocked his head against the brick wall that is Stradivarius last season in the UK before finishing a very creditable eighth when trying to win a second Melbourne Cup off top weight. There is a feeling of unfinished business with this horse who is effective from a mile and a half to two miles.

Add to that the fact that he will come here fresh plus he has clearly has been targeted at this rather than having a run at the Dubai International Carnival and you have a horse with a tremendous chance.

His trainer, Charlie Appleby, is in great form and is operating just shy of a 30 per cent strike-rate at Meydan.

This is not a very strong staying contest and Cross Counter stands out here.

I can see American domination once again here. Both Captain Scotty and Imperial Hint are very useful dirt sprinters in the USA and this is theirs for the taking.

Imperial Hint is a top-class sprinter who was third when favourite in the Breeder’ Cup Sprint and can also boast a third in the Golden Shaheen in Dubai.

It can be argued that he is slightly better than both of those results. He gained a win at Belmont in the Vosburgh two starts ago and his recent run over 1400 metres should have put him spot on for this.

His best form is at Belmont, and if the track is quite deep, his chance would be enhanced, but as already stated we are unsure how it will ride.

Imperial Hint can make it two big wins for American raiders.

This horse is a superstar and one who has not received the adulation he should have for a superb dirt career so far.

Unfortunately, he may always be remembered for being the first horse to be demoted having won the Kentucky Derby, but make no mistake though, he was the best horse in that race.

He was also the best in the Florida Derby, the Haskell Invitational, and the Cigar Mile. If you ignore the harsh demotion in Kentucky, he has won eight of his nine starts.

With such a CV he cannot be opposed here. It will not be easy though as Bob baffert has proven over the years that he can win big prizes when travelling horses and the Pegasus winner Much Gusto is a big player.

However, he has got something to find with Maximum Security on their Haskell running. The UAE raiders have a tough ask here, particularly Benbatl who is one from one on dirt, but he got a good trip off a steadier gallop than he will face here and improvement is needed plus we don’t know if he has that dirt style toughness yet.