'He gave me the same feel as he did in Dubai' - Dettori aiming for Saudi Cup success

Frankie Dettori will reunite with his Dubai World Cup-winning partner Country Grammer when the legendary jockey bids to win the Saudi Cup for the first time on February 25.

Dettori made a successful start to his ten-week US stint with victory aboard the Bob Baffert-trained six-year-old in the Grade 2 San Antonio Stakes on Boxing Day, but admitted to feeling the pressure on his first ride out there.

Country Grammer finished second in last year's Saudi Cup, when ridden by Flavien Prat, before Dettori got the leg-up for his Dubai World Cup win, and the jockey assured that the horse felt the same as he did that day.

"Country Grammer was my first ride here and there was a lot of pressure. It was Boxing Day with 40,000 people and he was heavy favourite, and of course I wanted him to win but he won in style," Dettori said, speaking at a Saudi Cup press conference.

"I was super pleased with him and he still retains all the ability he had last season. I'd be dreaming to say he was better than the World Cup, the World Cup is an amazing race but he gave me the same feel as he did in Dubai - he's on the same level at the moment, he feels just as good.

"It was a good start and Bob made it very clear to me that the Saudi Cup was going to be the next target, that's why he didn't run in the Pegasus. He was second last year in the Saudi Cup and Amr Zedan [owner] is from Saudi, so it was always the plan to go back."

Country Grammer failed to win in three starts after his Meydan success, finishing second three times including a very distant runner-up to the world's best racehorse Flightline, but Dettori is confident that he is ready for the $20 million race.

"When I text Bob Baffert after Flightline beat him 19 lengths I said, that was a good run, and he said to me 'Country Grammer thought he won because he never saw Flightline!" Dettori added.

"He's a super consistent horse, he's not fazed by anything. He's solid and I'm very pleased to be able to ride him.

"We've still got a couple of weeks left and I just hope he gets to Saudi in one piece. He's going to bring his A game and he's going to be a tough cookie."

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