WHILE a $1.5 million race for purebred Arabians was the most valuable prize up for grabs on an eight-race card at the King Abdulaziz Racecourse on Friday evening, the Diriyah International Jockeys’ Challenge took centre stage, and most interest from a global racing perspective, on the first day of the lucrative Saudi Cup meeting.

Fourteen riders competed for a prize fund of $100,000, with the first three in the standings after the four-race series claiming prizes of $30,000, $20,000 and $10,000 each. This is in addition to 15% of the $400,000 prize money on offer for each of the four races. Seven international female riders, five international male jockeys, and two locally-based males comprised the 14 competing.

Two Irish riders were among those doing battle, though not representing their country of birth. Winner of the 1998 Irish apprentice title, last March Tadhg O’Shea was crowned champion in the UAE for the twelfth time, and celebrated the feat with success on Laurel River in the Dubai World Cup. He rode in this contest under the UAE flag.

Another 2024 champion, for the fourth time in Britain, a former The Irish Field pony racing award winner Oisin Murphy also took his place, with the Irish men taking on riders from France, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, the USA and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Shane Foley won the challenge in 2021

There was huge joy when the first leg of the competition saw local rider Muhammad Aldaham get the better of the world-class James McDonald, known to many as simply J-Mac, in the opening leg. Tadhg O’Shea finished third in the mile contest on dirt, confined to horses bred in Saudi Arabia. Victory went to the five-year-old First Defence entire Jawhar Alriyadh, and this three-time winner is out of a locally-bred daughter of Tale Of The Cat.

The second race, also on dirt and for locally-bred horses, was over seven furlongs. The cheering had barely subsided after the first leg when the race for the Jockeys Challenge was effectively over, with a second win for Muhammad Aldaham, rumoured to be retiring this season. This time he was on another son of First Defence, the four-year-old colt Jahdoon, and it was a double on the card for Prince Faisal Bin Khaled Bin Abdulaziz, who had seen his red and white colours carried to success in the opening race. The Prince is perennially one of the leading owners in the country.

Late challenge

Oisin Murphy laid down a late challenge to Aldaham when he gave a masterful ride on the Irish-bred Honky Tonk Man to land the third leg of the competition, and the first of two legs in the contest on turf. This was the rider’s first win in Saudi Arabia, and the first two finishers were bred in Kildare. A son of Tamayuz, and a third winner on the night for Prince Faisel, the Jimmy Jerkens-trained six-year-old Honky Tonk Man won from the Barouche Stud-bred four-year-old filly Snafiya, a daughter of Blue Point with Christophe Soumillon in the plate. Honky Tonk Man was bred by the late Lady O’Reilly’s Skymarc Farm.

The final leg was one for the females, with the British-born Rachel King, representing Australia, leading home Kelly Myers and Sofia Vives to win on the Irish-bred Miyagi. The five-year-old son of James Garfield, bred by John Halton and partners, was trained by Kevin Philippart de Foy, for whom he placed twice in four starts. Sold for 55,000gns at the end of his juvenile season, this was his third victory in Saudi Arabia.

Muhammed Aldaham duly won the $30,000 first prize in the Jockeys Challenge, with Rachel King finishing second, and James McDonald in third place. Oisin Murphy finished fourth.

The nine-furlong Tuwaiq Cup was the most valuable race for thoroughbreds on the night, with half of the $500,000 prize fund going to the winner. The biggest field on the night produced an exciting finish, with victory going to Scotland Yard. Bred by Bridlewood Farm, the six-year-old son of Quality Road was gaining his seventh career win in a dozen starts, and he took on this race in preference to the Saudi Cup. He had run twice, down the field, in the last two editions of this $20 million feature.

The opening race on the card was a mile race on dirt for three-year-old fillies, with an appealing $125,000 on offer for the winner. Extending her unbeaten run to four, Ameerat Alzamaan displayed guts in abundance to see off her 14 opponents, the same qualities that saw her win on her previous outing by a neck. She only made her debut on December 20th, when she won a maiden by more than 11 lengths.

A daughter of Ghaiyyath and the winning Shamardal mare Influent, Ameerat Alzamaan was a 37,000gns yearling purchase by Najd Stud from her breeder, Willie Carson’s Minster Stud. She is the third winner for her dam, and from the immediate family of the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes winner Thundering Nights, herself a daughter of Night Of Thunder and a granddaughter of Shamardal.

Big prize

The Al Mneefah Cup, one of two Arabian Group 1 races this weekend, is run on turf, and saw an international field of 13 chase the $900,000 winner’s prize. Runners from the UAE, Oman, France and Qatar lined up to take on the 2023 winner of the race, Asfan Al Khalediah, and that horse switched to dirt last year to win the other Arabian Group 1 staged this weekend. There was to be no fairytale third win at the Saudi Cup however for the six-year-old.

The first three home were clear of the rest, victory going to the Qatari challenger RB Kingmaker, with Cristian Demuro on board. Christophe Soumillon was second on the UAE runner, Nabucco Al Maury, with Asfan Al Khalediah an honourable third.