THE Ado McGuinness-trained Harry’s Bar will head a small Irish team taking part in the $30 million Saudi Cup raceday in Riyadh next Saturday.

A winner twice at Dundalk for McGuinness and owners Shamrock Thoroughbreds since being purchased for 75,000gns in October, Harry’s Bar runs in the $1.5 million Dirt Sprint.

Joseph O’Brien sends over Speak In Colours for the $1 million Turf Sprint, Jessica Harrington runs Barbados in the $2.5 million Red Sea Turf Handicap, and Willie Mullins has entered True Self for the $1 million Neom Turf Cup, a race in which the McGuinness-trained Saltonstall will also compete.

Aidan O’Brien won’t be represented at the meeting.

McGuinness is looking forward to the challenge facing Harry’s Bar. “He’s in great form. He’s come back 100% from his last race, he’s cantering away and he’s heading out to Saudi on Sunday morning.

“They tell me it’s the closest dirt track to an all-weather surface probably in the world. He’s an all-weather specialist so hopefully he’ll act on it.”

McGuinness felt his head was on the block when he ran Harry’s Bar shortly after buying him at the sales.

“We’ve only run him twice and the first day, when he won the listed race, if he had got beat and finished down the field I’d have been called all sorts, because he’d only come out of the sales and run a few days later,” he said.

“We gambled and it worked. He’s a very good horse and is enjoying life here. His win at Dundalk last week was a very good performance.

“The handicapper put his turf rating up 3lb after that and left his all-weather mark alone. I couldn’t understand that.

“If he goes back to the grass I think he’ll be a nice horse for the Wokingham.”

Not too far away in Qatar, another McGuinness inmate, Bowerman, will fly the flag in a local Group 2 at Doha over a mile.

“Bowerman goes to Doha next week for a one-mile Group 2 on the grass on the Friday night. We’d have gone for the bigger race there, only the handicapper dropped him,” he said.