The 5th Saudi Cup (G1), a $20 million (USD 26.6 billion) purse, was held at the King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Saudi Arabia at 8:40 p.m. local time on March 24, featuring the best horses on the dirt.
The winner of the race, who took home a whopping 10 million dollars, half of the total prize money, was Señor Buscador from the United States. It was a thrilling victory that he won by a nose over the popular horse Usba Tesoro, who seemed to be far from winning.
A total of 14 horses, including five from the United States, the dominant powerhouse of dirt racing, were entered in the race, and various horses from different training countries attracted attention, such as National Treasure (USA), who won the Pegasus World Cup in January, Lemon Pop (Japan), the best dirt horse in the JRA in '23, and Defunded (Saudi Arabia), who won the Hollywood Gold C.
The Saudi Cup was an unscripted drama with twists and turns. Japanese-trained Saudi Crown took an early lead, but the lead changed hands twice with just 20 meters to go before the finish line of the 1,800-meter race.
Tesoro Usuba, the Dubai 2023 World Cup winner, almost took the honors, making a tremendous charge under jockey Yu Kawada, who won the Korea Cup last year.
However, it was Señor Buscador who took home the honors with an unexpected move 200 meters before the finish line. 스포츠토토 He was the least favorite in the field in terms of international ratings, popularity, and early race developments, but as soon as he entered the final straight, he ran straight ahead and showed that "it's not over until it's over".
Meanwhile, White Avario, winner of last year's Breeders' Cup Classic and the favorite in the Saudi Cup, looked strong early in the race but faded in the final stretch and finished 10th. Saudi Prince Abdul Rahman bin Faisal, who had acquired partial rights to White Avario and had hoped to wear his colors in the race, had to swallow bitterness instead of joy.
The Saudi Cup racing week also featured a number of horses who have made their mark on Korean racing fans in the Korea Cup and Korea Sprint, including the Japanese 'Remake', who won last year's Korea Sprint and took the Riyadh Dirt Sprint (G3, 1,200 meters). Yu Kawada and his jockey worked well together, and after slipping to the back of the field in the early stages of the race, he exploded into the straight to take the lead and hold off American Skelly for the win. The Japanese horse has now been crowned the winner of three of the five Riyadh Dirt Sprints so far.
Meanwhile, Ireland's Anaf, who was disappointed to finish seventh in the 2022 Korea Sprint, showed his racing prowess in the 1351 Turf Sprint (G2, 1,351m) to take the honors. After a shaky start, he failed to gain position early in the race and was unable to get out of the back of the field, but showed tremendous speed to overtake the favorite, Japan's Lara Christine, to take home the $1 million prize.
The Saudi Cup, now in its fifth year, featured 17 races, including the Ministry of Culture Al Meneffa Cup (G1, 2,100 meters) and Obaiya Arabian Classic (G1, 2,000 meters), with a total prize purse of $37.6 million, with the highlight race, the Saudi Cup (G1), offering a whopping $20 million in prize money, making it the world's highest-priced horse race.
Despite the fact that Islamic culture prohibits betting, the festival does not sell betting tickets, but it has become a world-class horse racing festival, showcasing the excellence of Saudi culture through the organic combination of horse racing and culture, including a fashion show featuring the works of more than 100 emerging Saudi designers, various exhibitions, and live performances of Saheel, which encompasses the past, present, and future of Saudi music.