The breed, prized for profitability and an ability to adapt to climate change, garners celebrity status in the Central Asian country
asia2 hours ago
Soft Whisper will be hoping she will be heard loud and clear when the Godolphin filly goes up against the boys in the Saudi Derby during the Saudi Cup in Riyadh this weekend.
The centrepiece, of course, is the $20 million Saudi Cup, dubbed the world’s most valuable horse race, but the rich card features a generous prize purse of $30.5 million across the eight races, up from $29.2 million in the inaugural edition last year.
And one among them is The Al Rajhi Bank Saudi Derby, which is worth $1.5 million. The contest, to be run over 1600 metres and on dirt at the King Abdulaziz Racecourse, has three UAE runners — Soft Whisper, Charlie Appleby’s Rebel’s Romance and Salem bin Ghadayer’s Meshakel.
Emirati handler Saeed bin Suroor believes Soft Whisper is peaking at the right time, with four victories on the trot, including the UAE 1000 Guineas at Meydan last month, coming into this race.
"She won the Guineas and the Trial very easily and this time will face the colts, but she came back great from her race and I think we can get the best result again from her,” said Bin Suroor.
“She will have to be handy in the race and I think that will suit her better. The pace will be faster this time and I think it’s an open race with some very good horses in there,” he added of the three-year-old from Dubawi.
Bin Suroor’s Land Of Legends, winner of the Group 2 Al Fahidi Fort during the Dubai World Cup Carnival at Meydan last month, is a strong contender in the $1 million stc 1351 Turf Sprint.
Meanwhile, Military Law, who will be flying the flag for the UAE in the 1800 metres Saudi Cup, shipped in late on Tuesday evening and was hand-walked on Wednesday, to get a feel of things.
"He just hand-walked today and shipped over well," Maria Ritchie, assistant trainer to Musabbeh Al Mheiri, said on Wednesday.
"We’re looking forward to the race with him and we know he can see the distance. There will be pace, which is good. He was fresh last time, so he did well over the mile, but he obviously travels 2000 metres,” she added.
james@khaleejtimes.com
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