In early August 2019, as he introduced the launch of the $20m (£16.4m) Saudi Cup, the world’s Most worthy race, HRH Prince Bandar bin Khalid al-Faisal, chairman of the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, made no secret of his long-term imaginative and prescient for racing in his nation. It was, he mentioned, “without doubt the most significant event in the history of horse racing in Saudi Arabia, and demonstrates our resolve to develop this great sport … and also our ambition to become a leading player on horse racing’s world stage.”
It was a daring assertion of Saudi sporting intent of a sort that has grow to be more and more acquainted lately. The nation has spent billions of {dollars} to carve out a profile in sports activities together with soccer, golf, boxing, tennis and Formula One, amid widespread criticism that it’s looking for to “sportswash” its human rights document. Dozens of star names, together with Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Neymar now play for groups in the Saudi Pro League, the as soon as upstart LIV Golf has merged with the 107-year-old PGA, and the nation’s Public Investment Fund now owns 80% of Newcastle United.
By these requirements a minimum of, the return on the nation’s funding in racing may seem like a number of lengths off the tempo. The begin of the new season at King Abdulaziz racecourse in Riyadh on 26 October will move largely unnoticed. Even the Saudi Cup continues to be barely a blip on the outermost ring of the radar so far as most British racing followers are involved, given the imminence of March’s Cheltenham Festival when it’s staged in late February.
But whereas punters in Britain and Ireland are preoccupied with National Hunt racing in the winter months, the remainder of the world is not. From a standing – and considerably inauspicious – begin in 2020, the Saudi Cup and the two-day assembly it helps has progressed from 12 months to 12 months, and the long-term impression on British racing may but show to be vital.
The world’s Most worthy horse race, with no entry charges and a $10m (£8.2m) first prize for the winner, was parachuted into the worldwide schedule in February 2020 in a world that was already heading quickly in the direction of lockdown. The first winner was Maximum Security, educated by Jason Servis, and a US-based winner of the debut occasion was, on the face of it, a big coup for the race because it tried to determine a presence in the worldwide schedule.
A couple of weeks later, nevertheless, it proved to be something however. While Servis took the plaudits and deliberate the way to spend his share of the prize cash, again residence it quickly transpired that his cell was being tapped by the FBI, as a part of an investigation into performance-enhancing medicine in the sport. Servis is now serving a four-year jail sentence and whereas Maximum Security did not fail a dope check both earlier than or after his win, the first prize stays unpaid.
After its ill-starred debut, nevertheless, the three subsequent winners of the Saudi Cup have included Mishriff, from John Gosden’s yard in Newmarket, and maybe most importantly, Panthalassa, from Japan, earlier this 12 months.
Mishriff’s win proved that “turf” horses can win on the grime monitor in Riyadh, which has obtained widespread reward from jockeys as being one among the finest grime surfaces in the world. The arrival of high-quality runners from Japan, in the meantime, can be seen as a transparent signal that Saudi racing has arrived on the worldwide stage.
The card on Saudi Cup day now extends to eight races for thoroughbreds, together with a 15-furlong handicap value $2.5m, considerably greater than any race in the British programme. That might sound odd in a rustic the place betting is strictly forbidden, however is smart when you think about the rising worth of the assembly’s worldwide betting rights. The seven races on the Saudi Cup undercard, in actual fact, are value $11.5m (£9.45m), which is simply a fraction lower than all 35 races at Royal Ascot put collectively.
This will all nonetheless go away most British punters chilly as the Saudi season begins on Thursday, 24 hours earlier than the first assembly of the 12 months at Cheltenham. The eventual impression elsewhere in the British racing programme, nevertheless, could possibly be vital.
Elite Group One horses usually race about six instances annually, and in some unspecified time in the future, all of them want a relaxation. If the Saudi Cup assembly turns into a brand new entry on the schedule for the easiest horses every February, with the long-established big-money assembly at Meydan in Dubai just a few weeks later, one thing may have to provide elsewhere. Two of Japan’s largest races, in the meantime, the Japan Cup and the Arima Kinen, are run in November and December respectively.
after publication promotion
“Internationally, people are already being attracted by the cash,” one senior govt with lengthy expertise of the worldwide scene says. “The Saudi Cup is already a Group One, and the track is one of the best in the world. The dirt isn’t deep, there’s very little kickback and it’s fair, so a horse like Mishriff can win on it when it’s not going to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic or in Dubai.
“In time, if you’ve got a four-year-old that’s won a Classic, you can go on that international circuit and it might almost reverse the season, to go autumn [the Arc at Longchamp and Japan], winter [in Saudi Arabia and Dubai], [Royal] Ascot [in June] and then stop. You’d miss the central part of the season [in Europe] and races like the King George [at Ascot in July] because the money isn’t there.”
The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia equipped written solutions to questions from the Guardian about the improvement of its racing trade up to now and its future plans.
“The purpose of the government’s investment in the Saudi Cup was to create a vehicle for positive change and development in horse racing in Saudi Arabia, while at the same time announcing our presence on the world stage,” it mentioned.
“Similar to a number of sports in the country that are also undergoing development, horse racing is key to the overall future picture of sport in the country that aims to encourage growth, diversification, greater participation from all quarters of the Saudi community, economic progress and elite level performance starting from the grassroots and building upwards.
“Like many places that are seeking to bring about positive societal change through sport, horse racing in Saudi Arabia is on a journey. We have not reached our destination and we will continue working hard to reach new heights under the guidance of HRH Prince Bandar.”
Discussion about this post