Brad Cox to Bid for First Saudi Cup Win with Bishops Bay

Brad Cox will target his first Saudi Cup victory when he runs Bishops Bay in the $20 million G1 Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh on Feb. 14. The move follows a rapid rise in form for Bishops Bay, who arrives off two late-season stakes wins at Aqueduct and ships to Riyadh with Junior Alvarado booked to ride.

Bishops Bay won the GIII Forty Niner Stakes on Nov. 2, 2025, then was purchased for $1.3 million at the Keeneland November Horses of Racing Age Sale when Pedro Lanz submitted the winning bid on behalf of the Saudi-based KAS Stables. The son of the Pioneerof the Nile mare Catch My Drift was then co-highweight and victorious in the $500,000 Cigar Mile Handicap (G2) at Aqueduct on Dec. 6, 2025, carrying 125 pounds from post 7 with Flavien Prat listed as the pilot and a morning line of 2/1. Bishops Bay’s record stands at eight wins in 12 starts with three seconds, including a two-for-two record at Aqueduct and three-for-three at a mile; his only subpar effort was a sixth in the Aug. 23 Forego Stakes (G1).

Cox brings considerable graded-stakes firepower to the Saudi program, with 240 graded and group stakes victories and 59 at the top level to his name. This will be his fourth Saudi Cup campaign after Knicks Go finished fourth in 2021, Mandaloun finished ninth in 2022, and Saudi Crown finished third in 2024. Cox embraces the experience factor: “This is our fourth time going over there. There’s definitely an advantage to having been there before. Dustin Dugas is on the ground ahead of me and he’s been through it. That kind of familiarity matters.” He added blunt realism about Bishops Bay’s task in Riyadh: “He has to step forward, there is no doubt. We've given him one opportunity in a Grade I to date. He ran a very respectable race there at Saratoga going seven furlongs [sixth in the Forego Stakes] and he probably wants to go a little further. He needs to step up and move forward and if he does and gets the right trip and some racing luck, I think we can be in the mix.”

Cox also stressed logistics and commitment: “When you decide to travel to Saudi Arabia, the commitment is total: if the horse is healthy and well, you run. That’s why having someone like him on the ground is so important.” Bishops Bay flew to Saudi with the Florida-based contingent on Feb. 2.

Cox will additionally run My World in the $1.5 million Saudi Derby (G3), with Irad Ortiz Jr. named to ride. My World arrives off New York stakes wins in the Nashua and the Jerome, and Cox sees the Saudi Derby as compatible with U.S. Triple Crown ambitions now that the race offers points toward Churchill Downs.

The Saudi Cup field includes established international names such as Forever Young, Nysos, and Magnitude, so Bishops Bay will be tested against proven global rivals. Cox balanced ambition with caution: “I just thought the way we spaced out the Jerome to this race made a lot of sense and it’s going to be a good race. He’s going to have to step up and move forward and I think, if he does that, he’ll be in the mix.” If Bishops Bay reproduces his Aqueduct form and handles the trip, Cox’s experience and on-the-ground preparation could finally turn a near-miss Saudi Cup history into a win. The result in Riyadh will reverberate for international racing calendars and for connections weighing Middle East targets alongside U.S. classic ambitions.