Dettori Denied in Prince Khalid Memorial

Frankie Dettori was narrowly denied a poignant success on his first ride of 2022 when he was pipped on Recovery Run  Jan. 8 in the inaugural running of the Prince Khalid Bin Abdullah Cup at King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Saudi Arabia.

Run in honor of the owner-breeder who passed away last January, the race saw Dettori hit the front turning for home on the Allan Smith-trained Recovery Run but he was unable to hold off the late challenge of Star of Wins, who triumphed by 2 1/2 lengths in the $266,000 contest. Jockey Silvestre de Sousa, who will spend the next few months racing in Saudi Arabia, finished off the board.

Dettori enjoyed a long and fruitful partnership with Prince Khalid, most notably through his partnership with champion Enable .

Star of Wins won twice for William Haggas in 2020 before moving to Saudi trainer Fawaz Alghareeban last year.  

Salem Binmahfooz, director of racing at the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, said: "It was a fantastic race and a fitting tribute to Prince Khalid who did so much for the sport during his lifetime… We are delighted to welcome these big international jockeys to King Abdulaziz racecourse and overjoyed that the turf track rode so well and we got such positive feedback from the riders.

"We couldn't be happier with the first running and we look forward to seeing the race grow further in years to come."