By Emma Berry
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — On a day when America, Britain, Ireland, Saudi Arabia and Japan were all represented in the winner's circle at King Abdulaziz Racecourse, perhaps the most astonishing performance came from the Karl Burke-trained Royal Champion. The son of Shamardal appears still to be improving at the age of eight and bounced into his biggest success yet in the G1 Howden Neom Turf Cup off the back of a similarly impressive win in the G2 Bahrain International Trophy.
His jockey Oisin Murphy had got his eye in with a Listed victory earlier in the day aboard Michael Scofield, and he guided Royal Champion wide in the straight to allow him to make full use of his electric finishing kick which ultimately blasted him four and three-quarter lengths clear of runner-up Facteur Cheval (Ribchester) in second while Survie (Churchill) closed late to grab third under Ryan Moore.
Royal Champion's win was of course sharply poignant after the sudden death of his owner-breeder Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum in late December.
“Of course our thoughts are with his family. We'll hopefully keep the show on the road for a little while yet,” Burke said.
“[Royal Champion] can be pretty keen at home and we just wanted to get into a nice rhythm behind a decent pace. Once he gets a bit of cover he just travels lovely and Oisin has pulled it off fantastically well. I was so confident once he was turning in in that position. He's a horse with a turn of foot who keeps galloping and stays the trip really well.”
Feeling just great at eight, Royal Champion has made a steady progression towards this top tier, claiming the Neom Turf Cup in its first year after promotion to Group 1 status, and with prize-money topped up to $3m. The gelding has been racing for Burke for just over a year since being repatriated to Britain after a spell in Australia and, since his return, he has continued to thrive. This time last year it was the G3 Winter Derby which became his first win at group level, that being followed by the G2 York Stakes and, most recently another valuable overseas victory in Bahrain. Could Dubai be next?
“He's been accepted for the Dubai Turf but Sheikh Mohammed Obaid wouldn't have been a fan of sending him to Dubai, so I'll have to discuss that with the guys at Darley and we'll see what we do,” Burke said.
“But it's an obvious race for him, and I think dropping back a furlong wouldn't do him any harm. So, we'll see. A lot of it will be up to Sheikh Mohammed Obaid's family.”
Pedigree Notes
Royal Champion hails from one of Sheikh Mohammed Obaid's equine families which has gained increasing prevalence over the last few decades. A posthumous and perhaps final Group 1 winner for Shamardal, who died almost six years ago, he is out of Emirates Queen, a Street Cry half-sister to Dubawi, and is himself a half-brother to G2 Jockey Club Stakes winner Outbox (Frankel).
Saturday, King Abdulaziz (Riyadh), Saudi Arabia
NEOM TURF CUP (Presented by Howden)-G1, $3,000,000, King Abdulaziz, 2-14, 4yo/up, 2100mT, 2:06.22, gd.
1–ROYAL CHAMPION (IRE), 126, g, 8, by Shamardal
1st Dam: Emirates Queen (GB) (GSW-Eng, GSP-Fr, $115,027), by Street Cry (Ire)
2nd Dam: Zomaradah (GB), by Deploy (GB)
3rd Dam: Jawaher (Ire), by Dancing Brave
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Exors Of The Late Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum; B-Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum; T-Karl Burke; J-Oisin Murphy; $1,800,000. Lifetime Rsecord: MGSW-Eng, GSW-Bhr, GISP-Can, G1SP-Ire, 24-9-2-4, $3,143,881. *1/2 to Outbox (GB) (Frankel {GB}), GSW-Eng, MGSP-Swe, SW-Qat, SP-Fr, $1,020,401. Werk Nick Rating: C. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Facteur Cheval (Ire), 126, g, 7, Ribchester (Ire)–Jawlaat (Ire), by Shamardal. (145,000gns Wlg '19 TATDEF; €120,000 Ylg '20 ARQSEP). O-Team Valor International & Gary Barber; B-McCracken Farms; T-Jerome Reynier; J-Mickael Barzalona; $600,000.
3–Survie (Ire), 121, m, 5, Churchill (Ire)–Sotteville (Fr), by Le Havre (Ire). (1,900,000gns HRA '25 TATDEC). O-Mrs Doreen Tabor; B-Franklin Finance SA; T-George Boughey; J-Ryan Moore; $300,000.
Margins: 4 3/4, 1HF, HF.
Also Ran: Shin Emperor (Fr), Yamanin Bouclier (Jpn), Silawi (Ire), Alohi Alii (Jpn), Direct Security (Ire), Phantom Flight (GB), Bolide Porto (Ire), Galen (GB). Click for the JCSA chart (R7) and VIDEO SC 6).
Royal Champion readily lands the G1 Neom Turf Cup 🚀 pic.twitter.com/YKYzmmGBj6
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) February 14, 2026
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