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| Sumita Pawar |
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The King Khalid racecourse will continue to host race meetings until 7th October. On Saturday, Prince Khalid bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz's Al-Khalediah Stables dominated Taif's biggest race day, winning both the Prince Abdullah Alfaisal Cup and the King Faisal Cup, two listed races for purebred Arabian horses valued at US$266,000 (SR1 million) each.
Asfan Al-Khalediah, the winner of last year's King Faisal Cup and undefeated in 12 starts, won the Prince Abdullah Alfaisal Cup for purebred Arabians aged four and above.
Asfan Al-Khalediah set a new track record and overtook last year's winner, Qaswrat Al-Khalediah, in the final straight, who finished two and a half lengths behind in second place.
Bint Ghaliat Al-Khalediah followed a further seven and a quarter lengths back in third place. Nadem Al-Molwk Al-Khalediah, ridden by Adel Al-Faridi and trained by Saad Mutlaq, won the prestigious King Faisal Cup, the highlight of the evening, and dominated the listed event for 3YO purebred Arabians by a length.
Prince Fahd bin Khalid bin Sultan congratulated Prince Khalid bin Sultan on his third consecutive victory in the King Faisal Cup and praised the Al-Khalediah Stables for maintaining the bloodline. Before the two listed events for purebred Arabians, Houghton of Youth won the Okaz Cup, providing jockey Luis Morals with a notable double on the evening.
“This race has been our target,” Fawaz said. “This horse has a lot of speed, and our plan was to go the front, no matter what.” Total prize money for the Okaz Cup was SR700,000.
On the day, there were four Taif Cup races held, namely Taif Cup for colts, Taif Cup Presented by Sports Boulevard for fillies, Taif Cup Presented by Boutique Group for colts, and Taif Cup Presented by Altanfeethi for fillies, all of which had a total prize pool of US$480,000. The King Khalid racecourse will host race meetings every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday until 7th October, while the Riyadh racing season is set to commence in late October.