RIYADH — Saudi horse owners have taken the lion’s share of prize money in the 4th edition of The Saudi Cup 2023 after winning more than half of the heats of the race.

The 4th edition of The Saudi Cup, organized by the Jockey Club, took place under the slogan of “We race the World” at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Janadriyah last Friday and Saturday.

The most valuable race featured 16 races over the two days, with a total prize pool of $35 million and Saudi horse owners won nine of them.

Commissioner King wins the Saudi Derby Cup

Horse Commissioner King, owned by Faisal Mohammed Abedlhadi Aljadheei, won the Saudi Derby Cup, the most important prize after the international race with a prize of $900,000.

The bay colt horse took the value of its prizes to SR3.7 millions, equivalent to its market value when he bought it multiplied 29 times.

The 3-year-old horse Commissioner King began its participation seven months ago by winning a race for beginners, then its trainer, Sabbah Alshammri, gave him a two-month rest.

It also finished third in The Jockey Club Award race but again missed races for a month before making a comeback to win the Ministry of National Guard Cup (Local Gr.3).

Horse trainer Alshammri has grown confident in Commissioner King’s ability to compete in the most valuable race by calling up his horse to compete in the Saudi Derby Cup against champion horses. Commissioner King’s surprised them by winning the title.

Alkhalediah Stables win Obaiya Cup

Horse Tilal Al Khalediah, owned by Alkhalediah Stables, won the Obaiya Arabian Classic Cup with jockey Adel Alfouraidi and trainer Saad Bin Mutlaq after finishing second in the same race last year.

Five-year-old Tilal Al Khalediah is the only horse to win the sword of Imam Turki Bin Abdullah twice in a row and won the King Faisal Arabian Horses Cup G.1, with prize money amounting to SR10 million after winning 7 races so far.

Additionally, Asfan Al Khalediah, also owned by Alkhalediah Stables, won the Al Mneefah Cup with jockey Abdullah Alawfi and trainer Saad Mutlaq.

The award was the 5th straight victory for Asfan Al Khalediah, which maintains an impressive record itself, and one of its most significant results was winning the Al Mneefah Qualifier (Turf). The horse’s revenues amounted to SR2.9 million.

Tuwaiq Cup

Horse Electability, owned by King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Sons, won the Tuwaiq Cup 1,800 meter race, the newly promoted round of the International Jockeys Challenge on the first evening of The Saudi Cup, with top horses competing.

The bay/gelding horse, Electability came second in Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques Cup, the Saudi Cup qualifier, to book a place in the most valuable race and before that he also won the Prince Naif Ben A/Aziz Cup (Local G2) and its prizes amounted to SR957,000.

Salfan wins Jockey Club Cup

Horse Salfan, owned by Majed Mahal Albugami, took his fifth victory, winning the Jockey Club Local Handicap round, out of 15 participations, including the King Khaled Cup (Local Gr.1), the Gulf Cup for Gulf Bred Horses and the Ministry of Transportation Cup.

The four-year-old horse, Salfan won the Jockey Club Local Handicap Cup with jockey Lewis Morales and trainer Gaith Alghaith, and took its prize to SR4 million.

Elite Power wins the Riyadh Dirt Sprint

Horse Elite Power, owned by Juddmonte for Prince Khaled Bin Abdullah Bin Abdulrahman Sons, won the Riyadh Dirt Sprint at a distance of 1,200 meters to add another trophy to its record which includes a victory in the G.2 race of New York Racecourses where it is considered one of the best horses in North America with prize money of over SR8 million.

Additionally, the Saudi owners have also won two rounds of the International Jockeys Challenge starting with horse Wajaab, which took its second win out of 25 entries, after claiming the International Jockeys Challenge R1 Handicap race with jockey Lewis Saez, who snatched the title of best Jockeys.

The five-year-old horse, Wajaab, won a total prize of SR750,000.

Meanwhile, the mare Medbaas, owned by Mohd. Haadi Bin Khyoot Sons, won the International Jockeys Challenge R2 Handicap, which outperformed a number of imported horses, and gave the jockey Juana Mason the opportunity to place second in the Jockeys Challenge, and raised its prize money to SR750,000.

The Fillies Mile Round

Filly Alia, owned by Abdulelah Abdul Aziz Almousa, was the first to win the Friday races by winning the Fillies Mile race, bringing its total prize money to SR468,000.

Alia caught the attention of onlookers, hinting at a bright future for the three-year-old filly.

In the final and most valuable race in the world, the Saudi Cup, held on Saturday evening with a prize of $20 million, Saudi horse owners maintained a leading position with the horse “Country Grammer”, owned by Amr Zidan, finishing second.