Tag: saudi cup

Luxembourg Opts For Neom Turf Cup, As Isolate Draws Into Saudi Cup

Multiple Group 1 winner Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), who was slated to make his dirt debut in the $20-million G1 Saudi Cup later this month, will not run in the 1800-metre main track affair, according to the latest list of probables released by the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia. With Luxembourg's absence, multiple group winner Isolate (Mark Valeski) draws into the main body of the field for trainer Doug Watson and owner RRR Racing.

The Coolmore partners' runner, a winner of the 2023 G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup, the 2022 G1 Irish Champion S. and 2021 G1 Futurity Trophy for trainer Aidan O'Brien, has been re-routed to the $2-million G2 Neom Turf Cup over an extended mile and a quarter earlier on the card. He ran second in both the 2023 Irish Champion S. in September and missed by only a nose to Hong Kong standout Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) in the G1 Hong Kong Cup.

Kieran Cotter is also planning to send his stable star Matilda Picotte (Ire) to Riyadh, where her intended target is the 1351 Saudi Turf Sprint.

Third in last year's 1,000 Guineas, the daughter of Sioux Nation ended 2023 with back-to-back wins in the G3 Sceptre S. at Doncaster and the G2 Challenge S. at Newmarket.

“She's doing fantastic, she had a break for six or seven weeks out at grass and then prior to Christmas we got an invitation to run in the Sprint,” Cotter said.

“She's back in and being prepared for that, we're delighted with her and she leaves for Saudi on Saturday morning to run the following Saturday.

“She flies from Shannon to Stansted and then it's direct to Riyadh. Door to door it's a 20-hour journey, which is no more than from here to Newmarket and she's a very good traveller.”

He added of the Turf Sprint, which is worth $2 million, “It's serious money and we had to take the opportunity. Our main target this year is to try to win a Group 1 with her and it's a Group 2, but if she's a Group 1 horse she'll have to go close.

“A few of the owners are going, there'll be enough there to make a bit of noise anyway! She's never run a bad race so it's all to play for.”

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White Abarrio, National Treasure To Depart Santa Anita For Saudi Cup Tuesday

GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner White Abarrio (Race Day) and GI Pegasus World Cup victor National Treasure (Quality Road) are scheduled to leave Santa Anita for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Tuesday in advance of their expected next starts in the Saudi Cup Feb. 24.

Per Santa Anita Stable Superintendent Jeff Metz, Richard Mandella will send Forbidden Kingdom (American Pharoah) and potentially Planetario (Brz) (Il Doge {Brz}) for starts on the Saudi Cup undercard.

After spending nearly 12 hours in the holding barn at Santa Anita, the Saudi-bound contingent will leave for Los Angeles International Airport at 4 a.m. Wednesday morning. They will go first to Miami via Mersant International where they will be joined by a group of Eastern-based horses for the 13-hour trip to Riyadh.

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White Abarrio, National Treasure Lead U.S. Challenge Into Saudi Cup

The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA) has published the likely fields for the Saudi Cup meeting to be held Saturday, Feb. 24, at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

The United States is set to be represented by a five-strong entry in the $20-million richest race in the world, a team headed by White Abarrio (Race Day), who will be making his first start since besting Derma Sotogake (Jpn) (Mind Your Biscuits) in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita Nov. 4. The 5-year-old, trained by Richard Dutrow, Jr., has remained in California since and has logged seven workouts dating back to Dec. 24, including a five-furlong drill that was timed in :59.60 (3/120) Feb. 3.

Also making the trip over from the states are National Treasure (Quality Road) and Senor Buscador (Mineshaft), first and second, respectively, in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational Jan. 26; GII Cigar Mile H. hero and Pegasus fourth Hoist the Gold (Mineshaft); and Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming), last year's GI Pennsylvania Derby hero and recent winner of the GIII Louisiana S.

Derma Sotogake is one of five Japanese-based horses gearing up for the nine-furlong test and will be joined on the trip over by Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}), the 2023 G1 Dubai World Cup winner and a good fifth in the Classic; champion Japanese dirt horse and dual Group 1 winner Lemon Pop (Lemon Drop Kid); G2 UAE Derby and G3 Korea Cup victor Crown Pride (Jpn) (Reach the Crown {Jpn}); and multiple Group 3 winner Meisho Hario (Jpn) (Pyro).

Most intriguing among the probables is the globetrotting Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) for trainer Aidan O'Brien. A Group 1 winner at ages two, three and four in Europe, the 5-year-old will make his first start on the dirt, having just missed behind Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup Dec. 10.

The home team fields the remaining three runners, including the recently imported American Grade I winner Defunded (Dialed In); Power in Numbers (Girvin), undefeated in four starts in Saudi Arabia since selling for $400,000 at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Horses of Racing Age Sale; and Carmel Road (Quality Road), who aired by 7 1/2 lengths in a valuable 1600-meter race Jan. 13.

Emergency runners include the Doug Watson-trained 2023 G2 Godolphin Mile winner Isolate (Mark Valeski) and Scotland Yard (Quality Road), a close second to Power in Numbers in the King's Cup last time.

The probable starters for the remaining Saudi Cup races may be accessed here.

 

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Moore, Oliver, Saez Headline Saudi Jockeys’ Competition

Fourteen world-class jockeys from eight jurisdictions around the world will participate in the International Jockeys' Challenge to be held on the eve of the Saudi Cup meeting at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh Friday, Feb. 23. A team of seven male riders will compete against seven of their female counterparts in the four-race series.

Ryan Moore will feature in the Jockeys' Challenge for the first time in its brief history. The veteran reinsman, who was recognized as the Longines World's Best Jockey in Hong Kong last December, is one of five male participants based overseas, alongside the defending champion Luis Saez from the United States, Maxime Guyon from France and Japan's Ryusei Sakai.

Legendary Australian jockey Damien Oliver, the last of the overseas invitees, officially retired from the saddle Dec. 16, taking a Group 3 race named in his honour at Ascot in his hometown of Perth in Western Australia. But similar to his compatriot Glen Boss in 2022, Oliver–a three-time winner of the G1 Melbourne Cup–will pause his retirement to take part in the event, which is worth US$30,000 to the winner from a total pool of US$100,000. Oliver will look to add to the 3,168 winners he rode during an illustrious 34-year career in the saddle.

Eight-times Saudi champion Camilo Ospina and current titleholder Adel Alfouraidi round out the line-up for the males.

New Zealand's Lisa Allpress made history in 2020 when becoming the first female to win a race in Saudi Arabia, and the four-time leading rider returns to Riyadh for another crack. Australasia is also set to be represented by the Sydney-based Alysha Collett. America's Katie Davis makes her debut in the event and will be joined by South Africa's Rachel Venniker, Victoria Mota from Brazil, French jockey Maryline Eon and Great Britain's Saffie Osborne, the daughter of trainer Jamie Osborne, who was part of the female team that emerged victorious at last year's Shergar Cup at Ascot.

“The jockeys challenge on the Friday of Saudi Cup weekend is always one of the event highlights for me,” said HRH Prince Bandar Bin Khaled Alfaisal, Chairman of the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia. We are justifiably proud of the variety of racing showcased across the two days. To be in a position to offer a global stage to 14 of the world's best jockeys, seven men and seven women, is highly gratifying.

“We wish the best of luck to all the jockeys competing and hope that their feats on the racecourse serve to inspire new generations of riders both in Saudi Arabia and beyond.”

 

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