ENGLISH TEXTS
race featured a full field , something we often lack in the UK , and it made racing in Saudi all the more exciting . Since this was my first time in the Middle East , I wasn ’ t quite sure what to expect . I was , however , blown away by the facilities at the racecourse and the standard of racing . The racecourse itself looked stunning under the Arabian sunshine with sandy-coloured buildings that housed facilities such as the stables , saddling areas , wash bays , veterinary check areas , and the broadcasting studios , which overlooked the paddock . Both the paddock and pre-parade ring were immaculately maintained , featuring neatly trimmed hedges and wellswept rubber safety floors that remained remarkably tidy despite the number of horses . The grandstand stood tall over the track offering picturesque views looking out onto the 2000m dirt track and on the inside of this , a vibrant carpet of green grass which made up the 1800m turf track which is beautifully maintained by clerk of the course Keith Otterson . If you would like to know more about the turf track , there is a fascinating feature on the JCSA You- Tube channel where Keith explains more about how the grass is grown in desert conditions . On to the racing now , due to the warmer climate , the racing kicked off at roughly 3:30 pm each meeting ; however , temperatures soon dropped after dusk with some evenings as low as 5 degrees . Suddenly bringing a winter coat to Saudi Arabia wasn ’ t such a bad idea after all ! Around 20 minutes before the off , horses would meet in the pre-parade ring looking well turned out along with their handlers , who also wore silks representing the owners . I thought this was a nice touch and something that should perhaps be adopted in our part of the world . Shortly after saddling , horses would enter the paddock for all to admire . Thursday ’ s card was primarily maiden races , which I enjoyed as I liked seeing some of the future stars at the beginning of their careers . Fridays and Saturdays would host some of the higher-class races ; this would often include listed races and local group races , which undoubtedly attracted more attendees . Although there were a lot of locally bred thoroughbreds entered to race , there were also plenty of imports who were primarily from Great Britain , Ireland , and also France . Some had form in Europe before coming over , and some just hadn ’ t shown anything and had come to the Kingdom to try their chances . I was impressed by the welfare standards of the thoroughbreds at the track . They were nicely turned out , had good coats , and appeared well muscled , but most importantly , they looked healthy . My paddock eye-catchers often came from a trainer who was not only very accommodating to me on course but was also very helpful to us all on the English-speaking channel , keeping us well informed on his stable and giving valuable insight into cultural celebrations and events on track that may have gotten lost in translation . This was trainer Thamer Aldaihani , whose love of horses was reflected in not only the way they were turned out but also his impressive results . Thamer was often in the winners enclosure , joined by two very impressive jockeys who regularly had rides for the stable . Riccardo Sousa Ferreira , a Portuguese jockey who based himself in Riyadh during the winter season , was regularly riding winners for connections . As well as Riccardo , local jockey Muhammad Aldaham was also given good chances with Thalmer , a very humble and talented rider who showed us what he was made of as he rode out of his skin to beat Mickael Barzalona . It was a battle to the line on Royal Cups Friday , where Aldaham rode Ajwadi in a Local Group 2 in early January . Many of the local jockeys put up good fights against the international riders and showed the public that they aren ’ t messing around when it comes to race riding . Alongside Mickael Barzalona , there were other familiar faces such as Rossa Ryan , William Buick , and Silvestre De Sousa , to name a few . Newmarket-based trainer Roger Varian was present with a horse
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