RIYADH — Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman has presented the Saudi Cup to home-owned-and-trained Emblem Road, who outpaced a world-class international field of thoroughbreds to eek out a thrilling victory in front of thousands of jubilant home fans at the King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh.

Owned by Prince Saud Bin Salman Abdulaziz, ridden by Wigberto Ramos from Panama and trained by local Saudi trainer Mitab Almulawah the home crowd favorite pulled off a shock win against more fancied horses in the field including the winner of the 2021 edition Mishriff in the presence of the Crown Prince.

Emblem Road’s victory was the highlight of the third edition of the Saudi Cup that is organized by The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA) that saw a thrilling second day race card that rung down the curtains on the two-day international racing festival in sensational style.

Packed stands at the King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh enjoyed an afternoon and evening of high-quality racing featuring a mix of the world’s best horses and jockeys alongside locally bred and featured talent.

The second day race card featured 8 races — the first three on the turf and the final five, including the flagship Saudi Cup, raced on the dirt in front of an enthusiastic live audience that was broadcast to horse racing fans worldwide.

The winners of the second day of races and prize money:

Race 1- The Neom Turf Cup Presented by Jahez (Group 3) $1,500,000

• Authority, ridden by Christophe Lamaire and owned by the Silk Racing Co.

Race 2 - The 1351 Turf Sprint Presented by stc (Group 3) $1,500,000

• Songline, ridden by Christophe Lamaire and owned by Sunday Racing Co. Ltd

Race 3 – The Longines Red Sea Turf Handicap (Group 3) $2,500,000

• Stay Foolish, ridden by Christophe Lamaire and owned by Shadai Race Horse Co. Ltd

Race 4 – The Jockey Club Local Handicap presented by the Ministry of Culture $1,000,000

• Ann Alawaan, ridden by Camilo Ospina and owned by King Abdullah A/Aziz Sons

Race 5 - The Obaiya Arabian Classic presented by Lexus (Group 2) $2,000,000

• Hadi De Carrere, ridden by Olivier Peslier and owned by Khalifa bin Sheail Al Kuwari

Race 6 – The Saudi Derby presented by Al Rajhi Bank (Group 3) $1,500,000

• Pinehurst, ridden by Flavien Prat, owned by SF Racing LLC, Starlight & Madaket Stables

Race 7 – The Riyadh Dirt Spring presented by Saudia (Group 3) $1,500,000

• Dancing Prince, ridden by Christophe Lamaire and owned by Chizu Yoshida

Race 8 – The Saudi Cup (Group 1) $20,000,000

• Emblem Road, ridden by Wigberto Ramos and owned by Prince Saud Bin Salman Abdulaziz

The undercard proved to be a day to remember on the turf and the dirt for Japan and jockey Christophe Lamaire with the Frenchman riding to victory in a total of 4 races on Japanese owned horses.

For the thousands of local race fans who flocked to the King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh over the two-day racing festival was witnessing a local favorite race across the winning post to win the world’s most valuable horse race. — SG