Saudi Arabia

Fan favorite The Chosen Vron (Vronsky), scratched from the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint last weekend, will be turned out for several months after an issue was detected in his ankle. "We'll take it one step at a time," trainer J. Eric Kruljac said. "We'll give him four months off and then bring him back. I feel pretty good that he'll come back the same horse." California's reigning Horse of the Year, the 6-year-old has won 19 of his 25 career trips to the post to date and, after finishing fifth...

Outwork (Uncle Mo--Nonna Mia by Empire Maker), has been purchased to continue his stud career in Saudi Arabia through a deal brokered by Chad Schumer. The GI Wood Memorial winner won three of five career starts before retiring to WinStar Farm in 2017 with $701,800 in earnings. He's gone on to sire two Grade I winners, Leave No Trace and Brightwork. Another top performer includes millionaire Outadore, who won the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Turf Sprint in 2020 before running in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Keeneland, making a gallant...

The new digital ad platform BidXSell is scheduled to launch its initial sale August 28, when it will offer the winner of last year's Pegasus Stakes, Salute the Stars (Candy Ride {Arg}). We sat down with Saeed Almaddah, the President and CEO of Silk Road LLC, which operates the platform to discuss how it is different from other digital sales companies. TDN: The digital sales arena is becoming increasingly crowded, with bricks-and-mortar sales companies getting into the game and digital-only sales companies joining the fray as well. Why did you...

Racing in Saudi Arabia returned on Thursday with the start of the summer season from Taif. A total of 351 races will take place across 39 race meetings from King Khaled Racecourse, which has an altitude high enough to ensure cool temperatures suitable for racing during the summer months. September's King Faisal Cup, run over 1,600 metres for Purebred Arabians, has been upgraded to international Group 3 status ahead of the new season, meaning it will be the only Group 3 for Purebred Arabians run on dirt in the Gulf...

LRE Racing LLC and JEH Racing Stable's four-time Grade I winner Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed) has recovered from the fever that forced him to miss last weekend's G2 1351 Turf Sprint in Saudi Arabia and is now being prepared for an appearance in the G1 Al Quoz Sprint on the Dubai World Cup undercard Mar. 30, co-owner Lee Einsidler confirmed Thursday. "You know, it's funny, if the Saudi race had been in Florida, we wouldn't have had to miss it," Einsidler said of last weekend's contest, in which Casa Creed...

Just before the gate load in Saturday's G1 Saudi Cup at the King Abdulaziz Racecourse, if you were an American race fan scouring the circling field looking for the customary light blue and neon green standard carried by Joe Peacock Jr.'s homebred MGSW Senor Buscador (Mineshaft), then you might have been left wondering. The banner wasn't there. That's because jockey Junior Alvarado was sporting royal blue and white aboard the eventual winner. Despite reporting by several Middle Eastern news outlets--namely Arab News and the Saudi Gazette--which either listed Peacock secondarily...

Saturday marked the fifth edition of the blockbuster G1 Saudi Cup, with Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) racing into the history books as another American-trained winner of the $20-million race at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Connections of horses worldwide benefitted from the $33.5 million in purses on offer throughout the card, with Europe claiming a trio of wins, and Japan two victories on a night that is rapidly becoming one of the can't-miss events of the year in international racing. Sir Alex Ferguson, best known for his Manchester United...

Fasig-Tipton will sponsor a world-record Best Turned Out prize of $2,666 (SAR 10,000) for the world's richest race, the Group 1, $20 million Saudi Cup Feb. 24, the auction house said in a release early Friday. Best Turned Out honors for each of the remaining eight races of The Saudi Cup Saturday card will also be offered, with prizes of $667 (SAR 2,500) to each winning groom. Fasig-Tipton will be represented on site by Anna Seitz (Director of Client Relations) and Michael Adolphson (Middle East Representative), who will help judge...

Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed), who had been scheduled to run in the G2 1351 Turf Sprint at King Abdulaziz Racecourse Feb. 24, didn't make Tuesday's flight overseas after a fever last week forced him to miss a workout, reports the DRF. Owned by Lee Einsidler and Mike Francesa, the multiple Grade I winner finished runner-up in the race in 2022-23. "He's been under tack for some light exercise, but his bloodwork wasn't completely normal yet," Mott told DRF Tuesday. "It was just a week ago that he developed a fever....

Fourteen world-class jockeys from eight jurisdictions around the world will participate in the International Jockeys' Challenge to be held on the eve of the Saudi Cup meeting at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh Friday, Feb. 23. A team of seven male riders will compete against seven of their female counterparts in the four-race series. Ryan Moore will feature in the Jockeys' Challenge for the first time in its brief history. The veteran reinsman, who was recognized as the Longines World's Best Jockey in Hong Kong last December, is one of...

The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA) has released the names of the 1162 entries--including 41 Grade I/Group 1 winners--from no fewer than 15 racing jurisdictions around the world for the US$33.5 million Saudi Cup meeting to be held at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. Prize money is up by $2.25 million as compared to the 2023 renewal, reflecting the upgrades of the Neom Turf Cup (2100mT) and 1351 Turf Sprint to international Group 2 status. One of the two races for Purebred Arabians--the Al Mneefah...

Two-time Grade I winner Defunded (Dialed In) will point towards the G1 Saudi Cup for new connections after having been privately purchased. The news, announced Saturday evening via a release, notes that the colt was bought for an undisclosed sum by Dr. Muhaideb Abdullah Almuhaideb's HDB Racing Stable, a new Saudi Arabian owner, and arrived in Saudi Arabia Dec. 18. "He is an exceptional horse and has the profile, hopefully, to be a great asset to Riyadh racing and to do well in the Saudi Cup," said Khalid Mishref. In...