Neom Turf Cup a potential target for Missed The Cut

The Neom Turf Cup in Riyadh has emerged as a potential next port of call for George Boughey’s Royal Ascot hero Missed The Cut.

The four-year-old won the Golden Gates Stakes at last year’s summer showpiece meeting and was last seen claiming Listed honours in the Churchill Stakes at Lingfield in November.

The form of the latter contest looks red-hot, with the narrowly beaten runner-up Algiers emerging as a potential Saudi Cup and Dubai World Cup contender with a runaway victory at Meydan earlier this month.

A possible trip to America for the Santa Anita Handicap in March has previously been mooted for Missed The Cut, while he also holds a Saudi Cup entry – but if he is to travel to the Middle East, it appears more likely he will be in action on the February 25 undercard.

Boughey said: “We’ve not finalised anything at the moment. He’s training away and there’s also options for him both sides of the pond, whether it’s in the Middle East or in America.

“He’s a horse that’s done very well through the winter – he still looks like it’s the middle of the summer – and I think wherever we next see him he could be running for some big pots anyway.

“He’s probably unlikely to get in the Saudi Cup I’d say, but he is in the $1.5million Neom Turf over 10 and a half furlongs, so that possibly looks like the next logical step for him.

“He’s a horse we have high hopes for.”

Boughey admits he was pleased to see Simon and Ed Crisford’s Algiers win round one of the Al Maktoum Challenge in such scintillating style earlier this month, adding: “He was very good and I think he’s a horse who is improving with age, as is ours really.

“It’s always nice to see them go and do it on the track and it’s great for the Crisford team. Algiers looks like a horse who could be a Saudi Cup horse or a Dubai World Cup horse.

“We gave him 10 lengths at Lingfield and nabbed him on the line, which hopefully stands us in good stead for the rest of the year.”