RIYADH (KSA)DIRT

Horseracing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia stretches back more than five decades since the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia was formed in 1965. Racing traditionally took place on a 2000m left-handed dirt track until the introduction of a 1800m turf track in February 2020, on time for the inaugural Saudi Cup meeting, which was heralded as the most significant event in the history of horse racing in Saudi Arabia. 

The Saudi Cup is charged with raising awareness of horse racing in the country and encouraging participation among men and women throughout the sport. It also aims to promote Saudi Arabia at an international level, acting as a marker for the Kingdom’s transformational journey, encouraging tourism and investment. 

Established in 2020 and organised by the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Cup is a two-day international racing festival, headlined by the USD$20m The Saudi Cup – the world’s most valuable race. The meeting traditionally takes place at the end of February at the King Abdulaziz racecourse in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and total prizemoney for this year’s Saudi Cup day card, which features dirt and turf races that regularly attract the world’s highest rated racehorses, is USD$ 31.5m.

The third renewal of the festival launches on Friday February 25, 2022, with the STC International Jockeys Challenge, which sees seven female and seven male jockeys from Australia, Europe, Japan, the United States of America, as well as two local jockeys compete as individuals in four races, each worth USD$400,000. Races are open to locally trained horses only and are run over a variety of distances, ranging from a 1200m sprint to a middle-distance race over 1800m.

Jockeys collect 15 points for a victory with the next four finishers scoring 10, 7, 4 and 2 points. In addition to prizemoney earned in a race, competing jockeys share a prize pot of USD$ 100,000. 

Last year’s STC International Jockeys Challenge was won by Irish jockey Shane Foley who returns to King Abdulaziz racecourse in the hope to defend his title. 

Adding further international flavour to the meeting, for the second year, Friday’s card also carries the 2100m USD$500,000 Saudi International Handicap for horses trained in IFHA registered Part II and III racing countries. 

Saturday February 26, 2022 is Saudi Cup day where the world’s top class horses and jockeys compete for the ultimate prize, the 1800m USD$20m The Saudi Cup. It is the final race on an eight-race card that sees horses from around the world compete on dirt and on turf for a share of the USD$31.5m total prize pot.

Prizemoney for The Saudi Cup meeting has increased every year. The inaugural running of The Saudi Cup in 2020 saw 22 Group or Grade 1 winners compete for a total prize pot of USD$29.2m. In 2021 the prize purse was increased to $30.5m and the number of Group and Grade 1 winners entered to run went up to 31. 

This year, the meeting received a record number of entries from 22 countries, including 70 individual Group 1 or Grade 1 winners. One of them is last year’s The Saudi Cup winner Mishriff, trained by John and Thady Gosden in the UK, who is returning to Saudi Arabia to defend his title. Should Mishriff, who is owned by His Royal Highness Prince A A Faisal successfully defend his crown, he will become the highest-earning horse of all time.