Valuable prizemoney is on offer for a pair of two-year-contests at King Abdulaziz Racecourse this Friday and the White Stable of King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz & Sons have excellent chances in both divisions of the HRH Prince Saud Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Cup.
The team have a total of five runners across the 1600m colts and fillies’ events – both worth SAR 300,000 – with Aatakum (KSA), Yumter (KSA) and the Camilo Ospina-ridden Al Aas (KSA) all going in the former.
Al Aas is one of the highest rated in the field on the strength of his second up win in Taif in August when he strolled home by nearly six lengths, with the top-rated being Taif Cup Local Bred Open third Muf Alwa’ayed (KSA) for trainer Abdulaziz Almosa.
Taif Cup Local Bred Fillies Open runner-up Ana Aljonubiyah (KSA) and the fifth home that day Mutakamilah (KSA) both go in the fillies’ race with Ospina on the first-named and Abdullah Alfairouz on the latter.
The Red Stable of Prince Faisal Bin Khaled Bin Abdulaziz have just the one runner across the two races and that is Nawaf Almudiani’s mount Leen Almoghtarah (KSA) who has ground to make up on the White Stable pair having been ninth in the Taif Cup.
Also on Friday, 10 runners will go to post for a 1600m open with the White Stable’s Mayhamah (KSA) backing up quickly under Abdullah Alfairouz after last week’s Africa Cup second, and he will go up against Fighter (KSA) who looks the pick of the Red Stable’s three representatives under Adel Alfouraidi.
Saturday’s feature is the SAR130,000 Sulaiman Alhasan Award over 1600m in which the two major owners are responsible for five of the eight runners.
Red Stable’s pick would appear to be last year’s Africa Cup winner Bint Farhh (KSA) with Alfouraidi’s mount joined by stablemate Hasna’a Alaeredh (KSA), and the White Stable fielding three including the light-raced Aethbaaraat (KSA), who won two of his first four starts before disappointing when last seen nearly a year ago.
One of the most competitive races of the three-day meeting is Saturday’s 1800m open, staged as race eight, with a maximum field of 20 headed by the Thamer Aldaihani-trained and Aseel Alsarhani-ridden Monsieur Jumbo (FR).
The eight-year-old was a winner when last seen in March and had previously finished runner-up on Saudi Cup weekend when second for Kelly Myers in a leg of the International Jockey’s Challenge.
His opponents include Thundersquall (GB) who put together a hat-trick of wins last season and makes his return, the highly-tried Badr (USA) and Tuwaiq Cup third and recent Taif second My Trinket (IRE).
Elsewhere and White Stable appear to have Saturday’s race seven at their mercy with their Kaflahom (KSA) and Aelam Beladi (KSA) towering above their rivals in the 2000m open.