the saudi cup
Dawn of a new beginning Tom Ryan, the director of Strategy and International Racing for the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, chats about February 29th’s inaugural running of The Saudi Cup, the richest race in the world
What has the response been to The Saudi Cup from international horsemen? The response has been overwhelmingly positive and highly encouraging. Racing at the very top level has become an increasingly global sport over the past 40 years, and there was an immediate buy-in from well-known owners and trainers, who were extremely keen to support the race. A lot of thought has gone in to structuring the two-day meeting in order to ensure that it is complementary to the international racing calendar, and the feedback we’ve received indicates there is very much a demand for the event. Are you pleased with how The Saudi Cup undercard has come together? There has been no official announcement yet as to the confirmed entries for the other races, but what I can say is that we’re
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“Racing at the very top level has become an increasingly global sport over the past 40 years, and there was an immediate buy-in from well-known owners and trainers
very excited by the level of interest in the supporting races, not just numerically but also in terms of the depth of quality. It’s probably fair to say that any of the supporting cast of races would be a highlight event on most race days anywhere in the world. With both Dirt and Turf sprints, a valuable handicap for locally-trained horses, middle-distance and staying Turf contests, a Dirt mile and one of the world’s most valuable races for pure-bred Arabian horses, there is something for everyone and that has been reflected in the level of interest we’ve received from the connections of potential runners.
Why the autumn changes to the race conditions? Any changes were really more about finessing the race conditions to best serve
