Seeds in Ground for New Saudi Turf Course

When Young Rascal won the Nov. 4 Matchbook Floodlit Stakes at Kempton Park, trainer William Haggas immediately turned his attention to staying races around the globe for the multiple group 3 winner—including a new $2.5 million race set for the undercard of the inaugural $20 million Saudi Cup.

As Haggas was celebrating the Kempton win, the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, after meticulous planning and site preparation, was just beginning to plant the grass on which that 1 7/8-mile race will be run. Seeding of the course began Nov. 6 after test samples showed fast, luxuriant growth 10 days after planting.

While most of the team preparing for the Feb. 29 Saudi Cup has been running full-on for many months, STRI Group, a British-based company tasked with installing a brand new turf course at King Abdulaziz Racetrack to handle the three valuable races on the Saudi Cup undercard, was dependent on the cooperation of the weather.

The wait was an exercise in patience for the group, which has worked on the grass courses at Wimbledon and the straight mile course at Ascot, among other credits. The planting caps a quick turnaround in a part of the world known more for sand than turf. 

In fact, the announcement by the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia that turf racing would accompany the Saudi Cup came as a surprise in some quarters. While other racing venues in the Middle East have featured grass racing for decades, King Abdulaziz' racing surfaces had been strictly sandy brown.

But the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia and STRI had been hard at work for months, clearing out the existing training track and laying down the base for turf. A computerized watering system was put in place and a plentiful supply of Med Gold Perennial Ryegrass Blend was prepared, waiting for the scorching heat of summer to fully give way to less extreme conditions.

"We're going to be using a grass that's ideal for a race in February," Richard Stuttard, head of consultancy for STRI, said at the time of the announcement Sept. 16. "There's no point using warm-season grass for an event that's going to be held in the Saudi winter. So we're waiting for temperatures to drop to a point that's not excessive.

"If you sow cool-season grass, and the temperatures are still pushing 40 degrees Celsius, then it just wouldn't be able to cope with that kind of heat during the establishment phase."

The right conditions should be "during the last few days of October," said Tom Ryan, director of strategy and international racing for the Club. That date eventually was pushed back a week.

Promotional materials for Med Gold stress its quick emergence and its "ability to establish rapidly."

It will need to. 

"Provisionally, we will aim to run trials on either the 27th or 28th of January, depending on rider availability," Ryan said. "We will invite some of the leading jockeys that reside over in Dubai to come and ride on it. We will then have a further four weeks to prepare for the big night after that."

As Saudi racing steps into the international racing scene in the biggest possible way, the turf course also will play a role in reshaping racing in the Kingdom throughout the season.

"We would hope to use it as regularly as possible," Ryan said. "A good percentage of the imported horses are bought in the UK and Ireland, so I think the current population of horses can adapt well. We would hope, however, that local owners will continue to invest in a higher standard of animal."

Attracting international turf runners for the inaugural Saudi Cup itself obviously would go a good way toward franking the idea of running on grass in Saudi Arabia. Enter the likes of Haggas and Young Rascal.

After noting that gelding Young Rascal will have to travel the globe to earn a living rather than presiding in the breeding shed, the trainer quickly ticked off the possibilities, including Hong Kong, Australia, and Dubai.

"Saudi Arabia has put a spanner in the works by putting on a $2.5 million staying handicap over a mile and seven (furlongs). So that might be very tempting," he added. "I need to go over and have a look at their track but I gather it's a big, galloping track."

Stuttard said the foundation layer of the turf course is compacted limestone, topped with an 11-centimeter layer of finely grated gravel and another 30 centimeters of sand. The sand, he said, is mixed with organic material designed to improve the biological activity and moisture retention that facilitate the growth of the grass and some "artificial stabilizing material" designed to facilitate uniform surface traction.

"You have to make a track that is safe. That's a given," Stuttard said. "Of course, we want it to look great, and it will, but the primary thing is safety. It's critical that you have a consistent surface. For the horse and the rider, they need to have confidence that the track will perform in a uniform manner for the duration of the race."

On Feb. 29 the course is to host a 3,000-meter (about 1 7/8 miles) race worth $2.5 million, a 2,100-meter (about 1 5/16 miles) event for $1 million and a 1,350-meter (slightly under seven furlongs) sprint with a $1 million purse.

"I am especially pleased that we will be having turf racing in Riyadh for the first time," said Jockey Club chairman HRH Prince Bandar bin Khalid Al Faisal at the time of the announcement. "Things are really beginning to take shape."