Saudi Cup Runners to Make Seasonal Debut in Taif
Image: King Khalid Racecourse, Taif. Credit JCSA
Saudi’s Summer Racing Season Starts This Weekend
Racing returns to Saudi Arabia tomorrow as the Taif Summer Racing Season gets underway with 20 race days over Friday and Saturday at King Khalid Racecourse in the picturesque city of Taif.
Situated at an altitude of 1900m in the western mountains of Saudi Arabia, Taif’s year-round cooler climate make it the summer holiday destination of choice for many Saudis as well as the perfect location to host the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia’s summer racing programme.
And top quality horses have been declared for the first meeting of the season including Muqtahem (IRE) and Honky Tonk Man (IRE) including a number last seen flying the Saudi flag on Saudi Cup weekend.
The first of 10 weeks of action get underway tomorrow (Friday) when the JCSA Almaseef Cup takes centre stage and 24 hours later the Taif Flower Festival Cup Prep meeting is held.
Over the coming weeks there will be 160 opportunities for Thoroughbreds and 40 for Purebred Arabians and a schedule packed full of compelling action from 29 Championship Cups.
Highlights of the season include September’s Group 3 King Faisal bin Abdulaziz Cup and the Listed Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Cup, both carrying a purse of SAR1m (USD$260k) and open to Purebred Arabians.
The top Thoroughbred ranks from two-year-olds to older horses will be campaigned towards the Taif Cups series as well as the Okaz Cup for older horses, carrying a purse of SAR700k (USD$186k) and the SAR500,000 (USD$133K) National Day Cup. The very best juvenile contenders will work their way towards the JCSA’s three-year-old programme in Riyadh, which culminates this season on Saudi Cup weekend.
Race eight on Saturday opens the season in style as the 1200-metre Open sees Group 2 Riyadh Dirt Sprint runner-up Muqtahem, trained by top Saudi handler, Thamer AlDaihani take on Honky Tonk Man, formerly trained by US conditioner, Jimmy Jerkens and now under the care of Hadi Gharawi. Honky Tonk Man is a winner of a leg of the International Jockeys’ Challenge on the Friday of Saudi Cup weekend and is opposed by another AlDaihani inmate, the progressive Transferred, who won four races on the spin last season in Riyadh.
Another prolific winner, Aeadat (KSA), a daughter of Premium Tap makes her return for trainer Ahmed Mohamoud in the following Um Alqura Cup Prep as she bids to score for the eighth consecutive time. She goes up against Istita'aeh (KSA) and AlDaihani’s Pretty Flag (IRE), winner of the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Cup.
On the opening Friday, the Sami Alharabi-trained Saodad (KSA), owned by HRH Prince Faisal bin Khalid bin Abdulaziz and the winner of 21 races, stars in the Local Bred Horses Shubra Cup Prep Open, and has his first start since finishing fifth to Straight No Chaser (USA) in the Riyadh Dirt Sprint on Saudi Cup Day in February.
Other names to watch out for on Friday include Fallat Kheir (KSA), trained by Ahmed Mohamoud, who has been a subsequent winner since her third on Saudi Cup weekend in the Fillies Mile, and faces 14 others under Abdullah Alfairouz in the Local Bred Al Hada Cup Prep.
The maiden staged as race three may provide some notes for the future with some nice types declared including Camilo Ospina’s mount, Kanzie (USA), a 2 y/o son of Mckinzie, purchased by the white stable of King Abdullah Bin A\Aziz Sons for USD$200k at the Keeneland Yearling Sales.
This weekend also witnesses the beginning of the new Taif Summer Racing Season Jockeys’ Championship, held under the patronage of His Highness Prince Abdullah bin Saud bin Mohammed bin Abdulaziz, and will see the jockey with the highest points be crowned champion at the end of the season on September 27.
More details can be found at https://jcsa.sa/en/events/taif-events/ while all the action can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/@JCSA_Racing/streams.
Ends