Silvestre De Sousa Returns To Riyadh
Image: Silvestre de Sousa at King Abdulaziz Racecourse on December 26, 2025.
Credit: Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia / Ali AlZenaidi.
----------------------------------------------------
FORMER BRITISH CHAMPION IN ACTION FRIDAY
Thursday November 12, 2026 – Former British champion jockey Silvestre de Sousa adds some international flavour to proceedings at King Abdulaziz Racecourse this weekend partnering Tahzeem (KSA) in Friday’s feature domestic Group 2 Prince Mohammed Bin Saud Alkabeer Cup.
The Brazilian-born rider will again sport the Red Stable colours of Prince Faisal bin Khaled bin Abdulaziz in the SAR500,000 event. His mount was fourth on his comeback effort having landed back-to-back successes last season in the domestic Group 3 JCSA Board of Directors Cup and the Asian Racing Federation Cup on The Saudi Cup undercard.
Red Stable is also represented by Salfan (KSA), last seen finishing seventh in that latter race, while the White Stable of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz & Sons are responsible for four of the 11 declared runners.
Camilio Ospina is aboard top-rated Wanaameen (KSA) after their success over the 2000m trip in the Prince Mohammed Bin Saud Alkabeer Cup and the four-year-old bids for a fourth consecutive win after also striking in the domestic Group 1 pairing of The Crown Prince Cup and The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup.
In addition, White Stable run recent Africa Cup winner Wakeed (KSA) under Muhammad Aldaham, and the lower-rated pair of Morodan (KSA) and Aelam Beladi (KSA).
De Sousa also holds an excellent chance in the third race on the card, a conditions event over 1200m, in which Red Stable’s Aela Mahlek (KSA) drops in trip after a recent fourth in the aforementioned Africa Cup.
Owner Sheikh Abdullah Homoud Almalek Alsabah is the main player in Friday’s final event – a 1600m Open worth SAR120,000 – with three of the 20 runners carrying his colours headed by this year’s Saudi Cup seventh, Mhally (GB).
Ricardo Ferreira’s mount enjoyed a great campaign last season and won three of his previous four starts including The Saudi Cup qualifier – the international Group 3 Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup.
The Kuwaiti owner also fields recent winner Ya Dar (FR) along with Mullazem (IRE), while chief opposition may come from Alexis Moreno’s mount My Map (USA) and the Saad Alsaibani-trained Garamond (USA).
Saturday’s main event is the SAR150,000 Listed JCSA Cup for Purebred Arabian horses and features Group 1 Obaiyah Arabian Classic seventh and Taif winner of the King Khalid Racecourse Championship Prep, Mutwakel Alkhalediah (KSA), among the field of 13 runners over 2000m.
A full field of 20 fillies and mares have also been declared for the SAR130,000 Sulaiman Alhasan Award in which White Stable and Sheikh Abdullah Homoud Almalek Alsabah look set to do battle.
White Stable again have four runners headed by Nowafaa (KSA) – fourth to Wanaameen in The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup and recently third in the Asia Cup – and Hay Nebahu (KSA) who was last seen landing round 1 of the International Jockeys’ Challenge under UK Classic-winning rider, Saffie Osborne in February.
Sheikh Abdullah Homoud Almalek Alsabah relies solely on Misaaeel (KSA) who has a leading chance on the figures but was two places behind Nowafaa in the Asia Cup and was also a distance second to that rival in Taif at the end of August.
***ENDS***