On Saturday evening, at the packed King Abdulaziz racecourse, the 2018 Dubai Kahayla Classic winner Tallaab Al Khalediah (KSA) overcame a 10-month absence to lift the inaugural Obaiya Cup (Arabian Classic), now the richest event in the Purebred Arabian racing world with prize-money of  $1,900,000.

Ridden by Roberto Perez, who has been based in Saudi Arabia for many years, the Saad Mutlaq trained Tallaab Al Khalediah left the gates to take the lead in the 2000m race and was never threatened. Hajres (TUN), trained in France, closed in on him in the final stages but had to settle for second place, three lengths behind. Mashhur Al Khalediah (FR) finished third.

Quotes:

Prince Fahad, representing owner Al Khalediah Stables, 1st: ”He doesn’t like to stay in the back. He always keeps going in the front. That is how he won in Dubai, that’s how he won everywhere. We were just a bit afraid because of his injury, but he has proven himself today. More than being confident, I think we had a lot of pressure to keep the Al Khalediah name up and that was the most pressure. He ran last time in March and thank God it makes us feel so much better and we are now looking forward to going to Dubai once again. I hope he can run again in the Dubai Kahayla Classic. I think it is a historical day for horse racing in Saudi Arabia and a historical day in the racing world whether it is in Saudi Arabia or not. We hope for many more to come.”

Roberto Perez, jockey, Tallab Al Khalediah: “So, you know, we made a plan last night for this race. I know that horse, I have ridden him like 10 times. I know when I worked the horse the last two times, I knew he was going to fight, that he had a great chance to win. He hasn’t run in a long time, not since Dubai. It is a long time, but he has too much class. He is a very good horse. This is a good race to win and I would like to thank everyone for giving me the opportunity to ride him, the Prince, the trainer, everyone.”

Christophe Soumillon, jockey, Hajres, 2nd: “He jumped out really well. I was lucky to be just behind the winner. On the turn he was really off the bridle. I thought he’d have trouble to finish the last 400 (metres) but he kept going the whole way and finished second. He was really tough today and quite lazy, but he’s a really nice horse We got beat by the best (Arabian) horse in the world. I was really lucky to be on his back today and I’m proud to see we did a great performance.”

Jean-Bernard Eyquem, jockey, Mashhur Al Khalediah, 3rd: “He ran perfectly but the race was too long for him.”

World-class jockey Olivier Peslier had to use all his experience to weave his way between horses on the Freddy Head-trained Call The Wind (GB) to win Saturday’s $2,500,000 Longines Turf Handicap at the King Abdulaziz Racetrack. 

Call The Wind recorded a two-and-a-half length success which seemed somewhat unlikely with 600m left to race as the six-year-old was placed sixth at that stage. However, Peslier maintained his patience and Call The Wind, a son of the legendary Frankel, won quite impressively at the finish. 

Victory in the third race on the turf track of the evening went to the legendary French trainer, following two wins earlier on the card for Bahrain-based trainers. Head’s current stable star showed his versatility for varying ground conditions as he relished the new turf surface in Riyadh. 

British challenger Mekong (GB), also a son of Frankel, finished strongly under Jamie Spencer to claim second place for trainer Jamie Osborne, while the globetrotting Prince Of Arran (GB) ran another fine race for trainer Charlie Fellowes. 

Quotes 

Freddy Head, trainer, Call The Wind, 1st: “Call The Wind showed how good he is there. He was able to quicken on that ground, which I wasn’t sure about. We had a lovely run, but I know that horse is not an easy horse to ride as he goes in snatches in the race. He goes well, then he has nothing and he can be a bit of a lazy sort but Olivier gave him a great, great ride. He stays and has a lot of stamina so Oliver chose to stay on the rail and do his race like that. It’s funny because this horse is six now but I think he has improved. In his mind he is a much better and nicer horse to train. He was very difficult to train early on and wouldn’t go into the stalls and that was why he didn’t run much at three. I think he’s still improving.”

Oliver Peslier, jockey, Call The Wind: “I’m very happy with the horse. He’s a Group 1 horse and you need a Group 1 horse to come to this race in Saudi Arabia, and if you are not Group 1 you cannot win. I’m very happy with the ground on the turf track. After three months when you see what the team has done here, they’ve worked very hard and done a fantastic job. I have ridden here for a very, very long time and at the other track and I see the construction here and it’s very good.”

Jamie Spencer, jockey, Mekong, 2nd: “He’s always a step slow from the barrier. I was pleased with how the pace was. He ran a very brave race. No real excuses.”

James Doyle, jockey, Prince of Arran, 3rd: “It went great, a nice pace, I had a good position and he’s run another great race. He’s grown up a lot and he is running very consistently now so I am very pleased.”

Charlie Fellowes, trainer, Prince of Arran: “He ran a great race, did everything right, had a good position. They went hard, I think they’ve gone a good clip which has played into our hands. He is a strong stayer and he is just a lovely honest horse. He’s run brilliant.”

Rest of jockey quotes:

William Buick, Cross Counter, 5th: “He ran a good race. He had a lot of weight to carry. I think that’s all.”

Wayne Lordan, Twilight Payment, 7th: “I ran OK. I didn’t travel any step of the way, but he kept going, he tries hard. I wasn’t good enough on the day, but he tries.”

Mike Smith, Hibou, 8th: “You know the ground has a lot more give in it than I was expecting. He just didn’t handle it very good. He didn’t run too bad, but he didn’t like it.”

Mickael Barzalona, Dee Ex Bee, 10th: “It was very disappointing. I have no idea. I’m going to check with the trainer.”

Joe Fanning, King’s Advice, 11th: “He travelled well and he ran a good race, he just finished off. It was a tough race, no excuses really.”