G1 Saudi Cup

Racing begins at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh on October 16, the first of 50 meetings before the February 14, 2026 $20-million G1 Saudi Cup concludes the season, the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia announced on Sunday. The schedule change was made to accommodate the Holy Month of Ramadan, which falls around February 28. The seventh running of the Saudi Cup coincides with the 41st Asian Racing Conference, titled 'Honouring Tradition - Shaping The Future', which takes place in the country from February 9 and closes at The Saudi Cup....

The 41st Asian Racing Conference (ARC) will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in February alongside the Saudi Cup meeting. The theme will be "Honouring Tradition - Shaping The Future" and the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA) and the Asian Racing Federation (ARF) will welcome international delegates from February 9-14 at the Crowne Plaza Riyadh RDC Hotel & Convention Centre. Delegates will be able to attend the 2026 G1 Saudi Cup on February 14. The ARC Business Programme will feature a number of plenary sessions designed to address current...

Total turnover on Saturday's G1 Saudi Cup through World Pool bet types amounted to HK$62.6 million (around £6.4 million), the fourth highest total of all World Pool races since it first entered operation in 2019. That list is headed by the 2023 G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes won by Khaadem (Ire)--for which total turnover reached HK$66.2 million (£6.7 million)--ahead of the 2022 G1 Derby won by Desert Crown (GB) (HK$66.1 million/£6.7 million) and the 2022 G1 Coronation Stakes won by Inspiral (GB) (HK$64.1 million/£6.5 million). The amount staked on...

RIYADH, KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA -- The eleventh-hour defection of horses like 'TDN Rising Star' Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), reigning G1 Dubai World Cup hero Laurel River (Into Mischief) and GI Pegasus World Cup victor White Abarrio (Race Day) deprived the 2025 G1 Saudi Cup of at least some of its pre-race lustre. Remaining in the field of 14, however, were two of the world's top horses, having achieved their success heretofore in diametrically opposite ways. Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}) won the G3 Saudi Derby in 2024 in...

Multiple Group/Grade I-winner Country Grammer (Tonalist) was represented by his first reported foal, a colt born in early February, at River Valley Stock Farm in New York, WinStar Farm announced via press release. Out of Bernarda (Bernardini), an unplaced daughter of Listed winner and Grade I-placed Nakano (First Samurai), the colt was bred by Scott and Debbie Pierce, who also bred Country Grammer. The dam's most recent to the races is a placed 2-year-old named Low Key (Bolt d'Oro). Bernarda is the distant female family of MGSW Carson City (My....

Trainer Danny Shum has all but ruled out a tilt at the G1 Dubai World Cup with his Hong Kong Horse of the Year Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), with the G1 Dubai Turf set to be the next port of call after his appearance in the $20-million G1 Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Racecourse on Saturday, February 22. The three-time G1 Hong Kong Cup winner arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday ahead of what will be his debut on dirt in the Saudi Cup, after gaining the tenth Group...

The G1 Saudi Cup hero from a year ago, Senor Buscador, will aim to continue the legacy of his sire Horse of the Year Mineshaft at Lane's End as he stands for $7,500 LFSN, the farm said via a press release on Friday. Bred in Kentucky by Joe R. Peacock, Sr. and Joey Peacock, Jr., Senor Buscador retires from racing with $12,944,427 in earnings and was trained by Todd Fincher. The 7-year-old had shipped last week to Gulfstream Park where he was set to make another start in the GI...

The richest horse in the world just padded his earnings with a hefty check from the AED1,850,000 G1 Jebel Hatta over 1800 metres at Meydan on Friday. Hong Kong Horse of the Year Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) delivered a strong final quarter in :22.80 to win going away, overwhelming frontrunner--and last year's winner--Measured Time (GB) (Frankel {GB}) at the 100-metre mark to win as much the best. That Godolphin runner went fatally amiss 50 metres from home, tossing rider William Buick to the turf. Poker Face (Ire) (Fastnet Rock...

After his work at Gulfstream Park Sunday morning, G1SW-KSA, MGSW & MGISP Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) has been withdrawn from the GI Pegasus World Cup and will be retired to stud duty, according to a tweet from owner Joey Peacock. In that message on X, Peacock mentions they were not completely happy with his return from the work and ruled out a start in the upcoming contest. Senor Buscador will now head to Lexington to begin his stallion career though a stud farm has yet to be announced. "Our Team was...

Recently-crowned Longines World's Best Jockey James McDonald has been confirmed in the line-up for the 2025 International Jockeys' Challenge (IJC) at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh on Friday, February 21. It will mark the first time the globetrotting New Zealander, who has ridden 106 Group 1 winners in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Britain and Japan, has competed in Saudi Arabia. McDonald's participation in the IJC will also give him valuable experience of the Riyadh track, the day before bidding for glory aboard Hong Kong champion Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation...

Last year, owner Joey Peacock, trainer Todd Fincher and jockey Junior Alvarado were on cloud nine when Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) finished as a game runner-up in the GI Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park. However, that was only the beginning because when the homebred rolled late--downright tardy--to take the G1 Saudi Cup the revels were in full effect more than half a world away. With so much success then, it would stand to reason that trying to pull off another shot at the Pegasus-Saudi Cup double would be the move....

The two-day $38.1-million Saudi Cup meeting nominations at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh on Feb. 21-22 were released by the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia on Friday. A total of 81 Grade/Group 1 winners are among the 1,123 entries from 21 countries that have stepped up, with Hong Kong Horse of the Year Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) throwing his hat in the ring for the $20-million G1 Saudi Cup. (Click here for an in depth dive into the nominations for the Saudi Cup, G3 Saudi Derby, and G2 Riyadh...