Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Salman has crowned Japan's Panthalasa as the winner of the 4th edition of the Saudi Cup 2023, the richest global horse racing event.

During the ceremony which took place on Saturday at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Janadriyah, the Crown Prince awarded Naoki Yoneyama, president of Hiroo Race Co Ltd and owners of Panthalassa, the Saudi Cup.

The front-running Panthalassa, ridden by the jockey Yutaka Yoshida, is trained by Yoshito Yahagi strode away with the championship.

Panthalassa covered a distance of 1800 meters in a time of 1:50:80, in the most valuable race in the world, whose activities started on Friday, with a total prize pool of $35 million, divided into 16 rounds, with the participation of 243 horses from 16 countries.

Japanese horse Panthalassa, owned by Hiroo Race Co Ltd, won Saturday evening’s final round of The Saudi Cup with a $20 million prize as the total prize money for the most valuable race reached $35 million divided into 16 rounds over two evenings.

The two-day event saw 20,000 attendees and followers turn out for an evening of celebration that captured the attention of all family members who enjoyed the festive event held on behalf of the races in partnership with the Saudi Ministry of Culture.

The cultural village held on the sidelines of the race events saw the participation of many thanks to traditional fashions as spectators were keen to wear it, including men, women, and children.

Prince Bandar bin Khaled Al Faisal, chairman of the Jockey Club said: “We hope to present this brilliant success of the 4th renewal of The Saudi Cup to the leaders and people of Saudi Arabia.”

“We send admiral thanks to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and his loyal Crown Prince for the unlimited support to the sports races in general including horse racing,” he added.

The chairman of the Jockey Club also pointed out that “this renewal of The Saudi Cup has had exceptional media coverage to cover 1.5 million followers. This reflects the large number of international participants this year as it confirms that the slogan of ‘’We race the World’’ has come true.”

Princess Nourah Al-Faisal, general manager of The Saudi Cup said: “This global race reflects our authentic culture related to horses and equestrian sports and this successful renewal has attracted the attention of horse lovers from all over the world, confirms the kingdom’s ability to organize such successful races.”

“The distinguished presence from inside and outside the Kingdom with traditional fashion as well as the participation in cultural events on the sidelines of the Cup reflects the equestrian involvement in the Saudi people,” underlined Princess Nourah Al-Faisal.

It is worth mentioning that The Saudi Cup 2023 saw unprecedented media coverage, including 35 TV channels covering the events of the world's most valuable race via viral broadcast channels with the participation of more than 300 media presenters from inside and outside the Kingdom.

The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia has added two platforms to the King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Janadriyah to accommodate increased attendance.

One of the newly promoted platforms is dedicated to horse owners, jockeys, and trainers to follow the race from a specialized location alongside logistics services.

The new platform was named after "Obaiya" as it was dedicated to VIP attendance with a luxury class including logistics services and exceptional views of the race.