Racing Preview

Welcome back to King Khalid Racecourse for our 29th meeting of the season. A mixture of maiden races and handicaps precede the two SAR150,000 feature races, the Alhada and Ministry Of Transportation Cups, on today’s nine-race card. The action begins with a maiden over 1200m. Faisal Mohammed A Al Qahtani’s FMQ Stables had an impressive debut winner last week and many eyes will be on their debutant Albaron, a nicely bred son of Mehmas. Almotahed, a son of Bobby’s Kitten, is also well worth watching on debut. Another maiden follows, this time over a trip of 1400m. Abdurahman Alotaibi’s debutant Golden Dream is of interest on debut with Wigberto Ramos booked to ride. However, Daahi finished very strongly for third on debut over 1200m recently and this step up in trip looks likely to bring out more improvement from the son of Klimt. Race three is our first handicap of the day, for 0-60-rated horses over 1400m. Not much separates the 18 runners here and recent form could prove vital. Sahm Nayef is the only recent winner in the field, after scoring over this trip just last week. Mohammed Alsumairy’s three-year-old filly won with a good bit in hand there and could make it two wins in two starts. Next up is an Arabian Horses handicap, also for horses rated 0-60 and run over 1400m. Most of these have had plenty of chances to win races, but Raghad H.S. lines up here for only her third start, having improved on her debut to finish third over this trip last time out. Keep an eye on the only debutant in the field, E S Tawash, too. Our fifth race is a 1600m maiden for locally-bred two-year-olds. None of the 18 runners have won in the past but Hadaabah and Zaezae’ah bring the best form after both improving on their respective debuts to both finish third on their last starts. A debutant to watch is the Camilo Ospina-ridden Aesaa. Arabian horses rated 60-75 line up over a trip of 1600m in race six. Bahar Zakhir is a fairly consistent four-year-old colt who has finished in the frame on three of his six starts so far this season. Last time out he was a winner over 2400m, but drops significantly back in trip here. While he has finished second over this trip in the past, it may count against him, and Shibl Nemr – also a winner last time out, but over this trip – might be the one to take advantage. Race seven is a handicap for locally-bred horses over 2000m. Mustadam finished a close-up fifth on his recent reappearance over 1400m, and judging by the way he hit the line that day, this step up in trip looks set to suit. Our penultimate contest is the valuable Alhada Cup, run over 1400m for fillies and colts aged three or older. Qahraman was a winner on one of his two starts last season and Lucas Gaitan’s runner is one to watch on reappearance. However, the winner may come from Taj Alaelya’a and Hoot Alqorain, who have both won twice this season from three and four starts respectively. The former has the better draw in stall five and should appreciate this drop back in trip after finishing second last time out over 1600m. The Ministry Of Transport Cup – over 2000m for fillies and colts aged three and upwards – brings the curtain down on a fine day of racing. Abdulaziz Almosa’s Yazdad Heybah finished a good third in the Ta’if Flower Festival Cup last month and looks the one to beat on ratings. He may face a challenge from December though, a gelding that has won twice and placed twice from four starts this season and now steps up to 2000m for the first time, which is likely to bring about further improvement.