Khartoum

A full and eclectic field of 18 older gallopers is set to face the starter for Thursday's SAR1.5-million (£295,933/€354,288/US$400,000) Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup (King's Cup) going the metric 10 furlongs at King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh, offering the winner a guaranteed spot in the field for the US$20-million G1 Saudi Cup Feb. 26. The King's Cup marks the Saudi debut for American-bred Saiydabad (Blame), a close fourth behind St Mark's Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) in last year's G1 Qatar Prix du Jockey Club and winner of the...

There is a lot of African geography in the background of 2-year-old Khartoum (Pioneerof the Nile-Up (Ire), by Galileo {Ire}). Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, is where the Blue Nile (from Lake Tana in Ethiopia) and the White Nile (from Lake Victoria) meet and unite, forming a greater river. "From there [Khartoum], the Nile continues to flow north towards Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea," states Wikipedia. The Nile is maybe the longest river in the world (the Amazon has a similar claim) and has always been very important to the...