Equestrian Club of Riyadh

In news from Saudi Arabia a new racing and training complex at Al Janadriya Township was established in Saudi Arabia by the Custodian of Two Holy Mosques, King Abdulla Bin Abdul Aziz, after expansion of the old course became impossible.

Named after the late King Abdul Aziz, the founder of the kingdom, the new state of the art King Abdul Aziz Racecourse covers an area of 9 square km. The complex consists of a 2000m main dirt track with 600m chutes, a floodlit training track, a large television screen and a six storey grandstand, as well as tennis and squash courts, running paths and recreational areas.

The SR200,000 Grade 1 The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosque Cup is one of the main feature races on the Saudi Arabian racing calendar. Held on dirt over 2400m, the race is split between a race for local breds, four years and older, as well as one for imported thoroughbreds.

Run on February 14th the 2015 edition of the The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosque Cup for imported horses was won in emphatic fashion by Ron The Greek (USA), who races in Saudi Arabia as Wattani. The gelding, who was using the race as a prep for his Dubai World Cup campaign, recorded a facile victory as he romped home by 7 lengths under Jose Lezcano.

Another highlight of the Saudi Arabian racing calendar is the SR400,000 Gr.1 King Abdul Aziz Cup over 1600m on dirt for Saudi breds, three years and older, which took place on March 14th. This year’s race went the way of Alnajem Alfaiz and Mickael Barzalona, who recorded a four-length victory over Motaa and Jose Lezcano, in a time of 1.36.98.

‍