That’s what happened this weekend when John Gosden’s Mishriff dusted ‘em in the 20-million-dollar Saudi Cup, easily putting away Charlatan and Knicks Go, who sat 1-2 in our Handicap Division rankings.

That changes this week, as Mishriff goes right to the top, even though he’s never set foot on U.S. soil.  Last week we mentioned that this was an undistinguished bunch of older horses, and while Charlatan ran a good second, I’d wager that he really doesn’t want more than a mile against top company.  I’d say Met Mile for him, then look at some of the 7 furlong races on the West Coast, and the Breeders Cup mile.

I’ve never been completely sold on Knicks Go, and though he proved me wrong in the Pegasus, you can’t help but question the form of whoever was running after him.  Game try by his ownership to take him overseas and take a big shot, but I still think a slight cut below the best of the best.

Meanwhile, the best of the best is pretty clearly Mishriff.   Do we see him campaign on dirt this year?  Dollars to donuts he comes back to the US for the Breeders Cup classic at a minimum, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him pointed to a late summer/fall campaign in some of the bigger US races.  The Whitney might be a perfect prep towards the B.C. (And I’d sure like to see him in Saratoga).  He looked the part in the post parade, and ran to his looks.

On the triple crown trail, nothing of note this week, so the rankings stay unchanged.  We’ll try to take an advance look at the Fountain of Youth and the Southwest Stakes later this week.