Get ready for more Saudi racing
Racing in the Middle East kingdom returned on July 26 with the Taif summer racing season getting under way with 20 race days over Friday and Saturday at King Khalid Racecourse.
Situated at an altitude of 1,900m in the western mountains of Saudi Arabia, the picturesque Taif boasts a cooler climate all year round, making it the summer holiday destination of choice for many Saudis as well as the perfect location to host the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia's (JCSA) summer racing programme.
The season then moves on to Riyadh and its crown jewel, the King Abdulaziz Racecourse, for its winter season from October to March, highlighted by the world's richest race, the US$20 million (S$25.8 million) Group 1 Saudi Cup (1,800m), slated to be run in 2026 on Feb 14.
Top quality horses have already featured at Taif's opening meetings on July 25 and 26, including a number last seen flying the Saudi flag on Saudi Cup weekend.
Among others, Muqtahem, who ran a super second to top US sprinter Straight No Chaser in the Group 2 Riyadh Dirt Sprint (1,200m) on Saudi Cup day on Feb 22, scored an easy win for top Saudi handler Thamer Aldaihani in the Open race over 1,200m, the highlight of the Taif Flower Festival Cup Prep meeting on July 26.
Over the coming weeks, there will be 160 opportunities for thoroughbreds and 40 for Purebred Arabians and a schedule packed full of compelling action from 29 Championship Cups.
Highlights of the season include September's Group 3 King Faisal bin Abdulaziz Cup (1,600m) and the Listed Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Cup (2,000m), both carrying a purse of 1 million riyals (S$343,0000) and open to Purebred Arabians.
The top thoroughbred ranks from two-year-olds to older horses will be campaigned towards the Taif Cups series as well as the Okaz Cup (2,000m) for older horses, carrying a purse of 700,000 riyals and the 500,000 riyals National Day Cup (2,400m).
The best juvenile contenders will work their way towards the JCSA's three-year-old programme in Riyadh, which culminates this season on Saudi Cup weekend.
Another contest that will spice up the Taif season is the jockeys' premiership, held under the patronage of His Highness Prince Abdullah bin Saud bin Mohammed bin Abdulaziz. The jockey chalking up the highest points will be crowned champion at the end of the season on Sept 27. JCSA
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
11 hours ago
- Straits Times
Cristiano Ronaldo and girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez are engaged, but all eyes are on the ring
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox NEW YORK - In an Instagram post on Aug 11, Georgina Rodríguez, the longtime girlfriend of Portuguese soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, shared a photo of a gigantic rock on her ring finger. Beneath her hand, adorned with long, freshly manicured, glazed French nails, was another person's hand – presumably Ronaldo's, since he was tagged in the photo. 'Yes, I do. In this and in all my lives,' the model captioned the photo in her native Spanish. Immediately, the oval-cut ring had people talking. Some people compared the diamond ring to a Ring Pop, the lollipop candy, and others joked that it was probably so expensive that it could save world hunger. 'To wear this stone regularly, you're going to need a finger reconstruction surgery,' Julia Chafe, a jewellery-focused social media influencer, said in a video on Instagram. 'Just imagine wearing a hundred-pound kettlebell on your finger all day, every day. Painful, but worth it.' Ronaldo, 40, and Rodríguez, 31, met in 2016 at a Gucci store in Madrid, where she was working at the time, back when he played for Real Madrid. He now plays in Saudi Arabia for Al Nassr. The couple share two daughters aged seven and three. Ronaldo has three more children, a 15-year-old son and eight-year-old twins. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Business Singapore banks face headwinds in rest of 2025, but DBS is pulling ahead: Analysts Asia Southern Taiwan shuts down ahead of Typhoon Podul's arrival, hundreds of flights cancelled Business Singtel Q1 profit soars 317.4% to $2.9 billion on exceptional gains of $2.2 billion Asia Diamonds, watches and shoes: Luxury items at heart of probe into South Korea's former first lady World AI eroded doctors' ability to spot cancer within months in Lancet study Singapore Yishun man admits to making etomidate-laced pods for vaporisers; first Kpod case conviction Sport New Hui Fen becomes first Singaporean bowler to win PWBA Tour Player of the Year Singapore SG60: Many hands behind Singapore's success story Anya Walsh, a jewellery specialist at 77 Diamonds, a retailer based in London, said she was surprised to see a diamond ring that large. 'Usually when you see even celebrity proposals, it's around 2 to 3 carats or maybe 5 carats,' Walsh said. 'This ring is in a league of its own. It's taking a good third of her finger, size-wise.' But it did remind her of a few other rings worn by celebrities and socialites. Walsh estimated the cost of Rodríguez's ring to be at least US$5 million (S$6.4 million), and the total weight to be around 35 carats. She said it looked similar to American singer Mariah Carey's 35-carat emerald-cut engagement ring in 2016 from her Australian billionaire ex-fiance, James Packer. Rodriguez's ring also reminded Walsh of late Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor's 33-carat stone, gifted by her ex, Welsh actor Richard Burton, in 1968. It sold for US$8.8 million at a Christie's auction in 2011. There was also late American basketball star Kobe Bryant's 'apology ring' that he gave to wife Vanessa Bryant in 2003 after he admitted to cheating on her and that was rumoured to cost him US$4 million. Ronaldo, the most followed person on Instagram with more than 660 million followers, and a man with a level of international fame that cannot really be overstated, is bound to inspire trends with his engagement ring. 'Knowing who he is and knowing his impact on the world and his popularity, I don't think he could have done it any other way,' Walsh said. 'This is one of the biggest celebrity engagements we've seen in a while. So many people are really huge fans of him. A lot of men as well. I can guess there's going to be an uptick in oval diamonds for sure, but will people want larger diamonds now?' Oval diamonds are popular for their romantic, soft look. 'Even though this is a huge diamond, it has that sort of contour where it's quite delicate,' Walsh said. After the round brilliant ring, the oval diamond is the second most popular choice at 77 Diamonds, generating about 20 per cent of total sales. 'Because it's an elongated diamond, it helps also make your hand seem a bit more slender, a bit finer than a more geometric or rectangular-looking stone,' Walsh added. Rodríguez's engagement ring also appears to be flanked by two smaller oval diamond side stones, which is called a trilogy design. The three diamonds typically signify the past, present and future. Olivia Landau, founder of the Clear Cut, a jeweller in New York, said the side stones appeared to be around 3 carats each. She predicted that the three-stone ring, with three ovals, would be more popular now, though on a smaller scale. Landau also said that, given Rodríguez's track record with fine and high jewellery, she believed it was a natural diamond. 'She's known for being a maximalist with her jewellery.' NYTIMES
Straits Times
a day ago
- Straits Times
Jessica Pegula backs US Open mixed doubles overhaul but urges more dialogue
LOS ANGELES – World No. 4 Jessica Pegula said the controversial mixed doubles event at the US Open could generate strong spectator interest, but urged organisers to improve communication with players before making major format changes. The year's final Grand Slam announced in February that its mixed doubles competition, which will offer US$1 million in prize money, would take place from Aug 19-20 ahead of the singles main draw the following week. The competition's format was also overhauled to feature a field of 16 teams – half of the 32 teams that competed last year – with eight entries based on the combined singles rankings of players and eight wild cards. Matches will be best of three sets, with short sets to four games, with no-advantage scoring, tiebreakers at four-all and a 10-point tiebreak in lieu of a third set. The final will be a best-of-three set match to six games. The move was described by defending US Open champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori as a "profound injustice" to doubles players, and Pegula, who is part of the WTA Player Council, said more communication was needed between organisers and players. "I'm honoured that they asked me to play. It's going to be great, it's going to be fun and the fans will really enjoy it," Pegula told reporters at the ongoing Cincinnati Open. "At the same time, how they went about it, I didn't think was really great... We were like, Okay, you guys went rogue and changed the format and didn't tell anybody. You just did it. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Power fault downs MRT service on stretch of North East Line; recovery may take 2-3 hours Singapore Live: NEL MRT disruption Business Singapore raises 2025 economic growth forecast but warns of uncertainty from US tariffs Singapore Circle Line to close early most Fridays and Saturdays, start late most weekends from Sept 5-Dec 28 Business Goh Cheng Liang, Nippon Paint billionaire and richest Singaporean, dies aged 98 Business StarHub buys rest of MyRepublic's broadband business in $105m deal; comes after Simba buys M1 World After tariff truce extended, a Trump-Xi summit in China? Asia Death of student in Sabah raises hurdle for Malaysian PM Anwar as he faces tough state polls soon "Did you talk to the players? Did you get their input about how it could be better? That's something that we as players are trying to work with them on, having that line of communication be a lot smoother. "I feel like maybe if there was feedback about the format, then the (reaction) would be a little different, not so all over the place." The US Open said previously it understood the feedback from players but stressed that the reimagined event will elevate mixed doubles with a bigger spotlight and inspire more people to play the sport. Pegula, who will team up with fellow American Tommy Paul in the competition that also features pairs such as Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu and Jannik Sinner and Emma Navarro, said the move to limit the field could impact doubles players' earnings. "It's not good when you have players saying they're upset that now they can't play, or that it's a way for them to make money and now they don't have that," the American added. "It's going to be a really fun event, but at the same time, I wish that they would have been communicating with us a little bit better." REUTERS
CNA
a day ago
- CNA
Pegula backs US Open mixed doubles overhaul but urges more dialogue
World number four Jessica Pegula said the controversial mixed doubles event at the U.S. Open could generate strong spectator interest but urged organisers to improve communication with players before making major format changes. The year's final Grand Slam announced in February that its mixed doubles competition, which will offer $1 million in prize money, would take place from August 19-20 ahead of the singles main draw the following week. The competition's format was also overhauled to feature a field of 16 teams - half of the 32 teams that competed last year - with eight entries based on the combined singles rankings of players and eight wild cards. Matches will be best of three sets, with short sets to four games, with no-advantage scoring, tiebreakers at four-all and a 10-point tiebreak in lieu of a third set. The final will be a best-of-three set match to six games. The move was described by defending U.S. Open champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori as a "profound injustice" to doubles players, and Pegula, who is part of the WTA Player Council, said more communication was needed between organisers and players. "I'm honoured that they asked me to play. It's going to be great, it's going to be fun and the fans will really enjoy it," Pegula told reporters at the ongoing Cincinnati Open. "At the same time, how they went about it, I didn't think was really great ... We were like, Okay, you guys went rogue and changed the format and didn't tell anybody. You just did it. "Did you talk to the players? Did you get their input about how it could be better? That's something that we as players are trying to work with them on, having that line of communication be a lot smoother. "I feel like maybe if there was feedback about the format, then the (reaction) would be a little different, not so all over the place." The U.S. Open said previously it understood the feedback from players but stressed that the reimagined event will elevate mixed doubles with a bigger spotlight and inspire more people to play the sport. Pegula, who will team up with fellow American Tommy Paul in the competition that also features pairs such as Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu and Jannik Sinner and Emma Navarro, said the move to limit the field could impact doubles players' earnings. "It's not good when you have players saying they're upset that now they can't play, or that it's a way for them to make money and now they don't have that," Pegula added.
