international federation of horseracing authorities

‘Thinking Big’: Young Spanish Trainer Alvaro Soto Takes Aim On Saudi International With Oriental

Spanish trainer Alvaro Soto is aiming to fly the flag for his country with his star horse, Oriental in the $500,000 Saudi International Handicap on Feb. 19, 2021. The 2100m (about 1 5/16 miles) race, a new addition to The Saudi Cup meeting, is open to horses trained in countries not included in the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities' Part One nations.

Oriental was horse of the year in Spain in 2019 having joined Soto from his old boss Carlos Laffon-Parias, a Spaniard based in Chantilly, France. He had been used as a lead horse for the top-class Recoletos, who won two French Group 1 races before retiring to stud at the end of 2018.

Having won two of Spain's biggest mile races in 2019 – the Gran Premio Gobierno Vasco and Gran Premio de la Hispanidad – as well as one of Morocco's top prizes, the 1 1/2 mile Grand Prix de la Sorec, Oriental was hampered by breathing issues earlier this year.

Madrid-based Soto is now confident he has solved those problems and he will give the 6-year-old a run on Dec. 30 before hopefully preparing him for the Saudi International Handicap.

Soto said: “He's in great form. He could have run two weeks ago but I was waiting for this race. I think it's going to be a very easy race because it's on the all-weather and all-weather races in Spain are not strong.

“In the morning Oriental is doing things I saw last year – I didn't see them at the beginning of this year. He's been galloping with a filly who won by six lengths last week and he was very easy beside her. I'm full of hope.”

Soto might only be 29 years old, but he has packed a lot into life so far with little room for anything but racing. His father owned horses in Seville, where Soto grew up, and he started riding out racehorses in his early teens after having started off with showjumpers. After riding 15 winners as an amateur jockey he turned to training in Madrid three years ago. He now has 22 horses in his yard.

Soto said: “My whole life has been racing. When I was at school I was always riding. I used to go to the racetrack in the morning and then on to school at 9:00 a.m. It was the same when I was at university studying business. I had a very good relationship with Carlos Laffon-Parias as he is from Seville also. Our families are good friends so every summer I went to him in Chantilly.”

The link with Laffon-Parias has certainly been a fruitful one as it led to him snapping up Japanese-bred Oriental after he had won a Listed race at Craon, France in September 2018.

He explained: “When I came back to Spain I met M'Hammed Karimine, a Moroccan owner who was looking for a good horse. I saw Oriental work and said 'you have to buy this horse – you are going to have a great time with him'.

“I knew he was a very good horse and we only had to change his mind as he had been the lead horse for Recoletos. I think we've done it. He was expensive but he won two of the best mile races in Spain last year and he was runner-up behind a good French horse in the other. He won in Casablanca, Morocco, over 1m4f. That's why I think he can be very useful in Saudi Arabia.

“He is very competitive from a mile up to 1m4f. The race is very good for him. He's also a good traveler. To go to Casablanca last year, he had to travel for 18 hours and his behavior was amazing.”

Travelling horses to the Middle East is nothing new to Soto. He took runners to Qatar and Dubai when pupil assistant trainer to Marco Botti in Newmarket, England.

Having also spent time as assistant to Laffon-Parias, he was tempted back to Spain to start training three years ago. He is fiercely ambitious and sees the Saudi International Handicap as a chance to show what he can do on racing's world stage.

Soto added: “We would love it if we were invited to Saudi Arabia for the International Handicap. This is the type of opportunity I'm looking for – it is very important for my career. Everyone will be at The Saudi Cup meeting and everyone will be watching. It's very important to go to these type of races to meet people.

“I'm always thinking big. If you don't think big you don't go anywhere. I started training to be involved in these sort of races. It's why I decided to make my life about racing. This is what makes me get up at 5:00 a.m. every morning – in the cold, on Sundays. I love horses and I love training – I don't like anything else more than racing.

“For me, it would be amazing to go to Saudi Arabia but I wouldn't be going there to make up the numbers, I'd be going because I think Oriental can be very competitive. If we could win, personally for me it would be very important and it's also very important for Spanish racing. In Spain we only have 600 horses – that's like two yards in Newmarket!”

Organized by the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia and run at the King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, The Saudi Cup is a two-day festival of international racing headlined by the USD$20m Saudi Cup – the world's most valuable race.

Established in 2020 with the second renewal set to be run on Saturday February 20, 2021, The Saudi Cup day card carries a total prize purse of $30.5m and features dirt and turf races for the highest caliber of racehorses in the world.

A full card of racing on the preceding Friday includes an International Jockeys Challenge which sees seven female and seven male jockeys compete as individuals as well as the $500,000 Saudi International Handicap for horses trained in IFHA-registered Part II and III racing countries.

The Saudi Cup is charged with raising awareness of horse racing in the country, encouraging participation among men and women. It also aims to promote Saudi Arabia at international level, acting as a marker for the Kingdom's transformational journey, encouraging tourism and investment.

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Minimum Horse Welfare Standards Published by IFHA

The IFHA Minimum Horse Welfare Standards were published by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities on Monday. The standards are in line with the IFHA’s terms of reference that include promoting best practice, harmonization and information exchange across racing nations. They also complement recent reforms that ensure traceability of horses from their foal stage through into retirement and beyond. Racing authorities should refer to this guidance to establish accepted horse welfare practices in their jurisdiction and to set minimum standards of participant behaviour, including behavioural change where necessary.

“The IFHA affirms the central role of the horse in racing, and accordingly, regards the health and welfare of racehorses, in all stages of life, to be fundamentally important to the viability and sustainability of the industry,” said IFHA Chairman Louis Romanet. “The Executive Council of the Federation endorses this IFHA Minimum Horse Welfare Standards document and I want to thank our Horse Welfare Committee Chairman Jamie Stier for leading the efforts to produce this useful and practical guide for racing authorities.”

The IFHA Horse Welfare Committee prepared the standards, in part, by basing them upon sections of the New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) “Thoroughbred Welfare Assessment Guidelines” (Oct. 2019) which were developed by NZTR with the assistance of Professor Emeritus David Mellor, Foundation Director of the Animal Welfare Science and Bioethics Centre at Massey University, New Zealand. A short video and podcast featuring the aforementioned RV Executive General Manager Integrity Services Jamie Stier, Mellor, and Dr. Lynn Hillyer, Chief Veterinary Officer and Head of Anti-Doping for the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board and moderated by Rishi Persad have also been produced in conjunction with the standards (click here to view). For more information, go to www.ifhaonline.org.

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International Federation Of Horseracing Authorities Publish Minimum Horse Welfare Standards

The Horse Welfare Committee of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) has produced guidance on standards for the care and welfare of horses at different times of their life, which is in line with its terms of reference that include promoting best practice, harmonization and information exchange across racing nations. Titled “IFHA Minimum Horse Welfare Standards”, this paper complements recent reforms which will ensure the traceability of horses from their foal stage through into retirement and beyond.

Racing authorities should refer to this guidance to establish accepted horse welfare practices in their jurisdiction and to set minimum standards of participant behavior, including behavioral change where necessary.

The IFHA's Horse Welfare Committee has prepared these standards, in part, by basing them upon sections of the New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) “Thoroughbred Welfare Assessment Guidelines” (October 2019) which were developed by NZTR with the assistance of Professor Emeritus David Mellor, Foundation Director of the Animal Welfare Science and Bioethics Centre at Massey University, New Zealand.

In conjunction with the publication of the IFHA Minimum Horse Welfare Standards, a short video and podcast have been produced, featuring Mr Stier, who is also the Executive General Manager, Integrity Services, Racing Victoria, along with the aforementioned Mellor, and Dr Lynn Hillyer, Chief Veterinary Officer and Head of Anti-Doping for the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board. The panel was moderated by esteemed British racing presenter Rishi Persad.

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IFHA: International Trainers, Jockeys Reflect On Working During A Pandemic

The 54th International Conference of Horseracing Authorities, organized by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), continued today with a discussion on participating and working in racing during the on-going pandemic.

The IFHA Conference is typically held in-person in Paris, France, the day after the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1), but in light of COVID-19, this year it is being conducted as a series of videos released during the first two weeks of October.

The third session was introduced by IFHA Vice-Chairman Brian Kavanagh, who is the chief executive of Horse Racing Ireland. Rishi Persad then moderated a panel featuring leading trainers and jockeys from around the globe. The pre-recorded Zoom discussion included trainers Charlie Appleby (Great Britain), Ger Lyons (Ireland), and Chris Waller (Australia) as well as jockeys Hollie Doyle (Great Britain) and Zac Purton (Hong Kong).

This international panel of trainers and jockeys discussed their experiences participating in racing during a pandemic, including the challenges surrounding staffing and how they are meeting the needs of owners. In addition, they offered commentary and feedback to racing administrators on concerns they have going forward as well as provided insight on the impact the pandemic and its restrictions have had on the mental health of both humans and horses.

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