 |
|
| Staff Writer |
 |
A lot can happen in a month, especially in racing. For Portuguese-born jockey Ricardo Ferreira, the last four weeks have taken him on a tour of the Middle East, from riding in Riyadh, to making his debut at Meydan Racecourse.
The journey is courtesy of 5YO Kaspar. A Group 2 winner in Germany, when he beat Dubai World Cup contender Grocer Jack, the chestnut has made a good start to life in Saudi Arabia, finishing second to Japanese star Authority in the Gr.3 Neom Turf Cup last time out. Trained by Mohammed Alhirabi, the performance was good enough to earn him an invitation to the Gr.1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic.
Ferreira has lived in Spain for eight years and has been crowned Champion Jockey there twice, as well as runner-up once. His biggest success there so far came in the Listed Copa De Oro in 2016.
Trained by Markus Klug during his time in Germany, the son of Pivotal was third in the Group 1 Deutsches Derby in 2020 and has a string of good results of the mile-and-a-half distance of the Sheema Classic, including a second in the Gr.1 Preis Von Europa at Cologne.