It did not take John Gosden too long to find a replacement for his stable star Enable. On Saturday 20 February, Mishriff, who won the French Derby last year, won the $20m Saudi Cup in Riyadh which was worth £7.3m.
To put that sort of prize money into context, it is comfortably more than Gosden will win in prize money in Europe, America and Australia and Mars throughout all of 2021.
And, in one hit, his talented jockey David Egan, 21, has just about been propelled into The Sunday Times Rich List – his winning percentage is probably more than he has earned in the whole of his career.
Mishriff, who belongs to Prince Faisal, must now be considered the most versatile Flat horse in the world, having won Group Ones on the turf in Chantilly and the world’s richest race on the dirt. He will now get the chance to win a few more quid in the Dubai World Cup after which the world is his oyster – the Arc and Breeders’ Cup Classic could also be in his sights.
Egan, who is retained by Prince Faisal, missed out on his French Derby win and another at Deauville because of Covid travel restrictions and a suspension, but this will have more than made up for it.
The pair was second in last year’s Saudi Derby and that dirt experience helped enormously, as did a brilliantly judged ride from the young jockey who let the US dirt specialists Charlatan and Knicks Go take each other on for the first seven furlongs. Charlatan won that little contest, but had nothing left when chased down in the closing stages.
“I’ve been waiting all my life to win a race like this,” said Egan. “It’s a privilege to be associated with such a good horse and an honour to win it for Prince Faisal in his backyard.”
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