 Tim Carroll 's Bio | |
|---|---|
| Tim started off as a jockey in Australia before pursuing a media career. He is a highly experienced and respected racing presenter who has been based in England since 2005. Tim has travelled the world covering many of the major meetings, including Royal Ascot, The Epsom Derby, The International meeting from Sha Tin, The Dubai World Cup, The Everest, The Saudi Cup and The Breeders. He is currently a presenter for Sky Sports Racing, specialising in both the local and international scene. Tim is a regular contributor to the At The Races Website where his twice weekly tipping column on Hong Kong racing has gathered a strong following. | |
King Abdulaziz Racecourse – Track Analysis (Saudi Cup Day):
King Abdulaziz Racecourse opened in 2003 with a 2000m dirt track. The races are run counter-clockwise (left-handed) with both the back and main straights being 500m in length. There is a 450m chute at the top right hand side of the course, which is used for races from 1600m to 2000m. It tends to ride slow and horses can win from anywhere in evenly run races. It is widely regarded as one of the highest quality dirt surfaces in the world.
Inside the dirt track, there is a turf course which was installed in 2020 and is 1800m in length. It is 21m wide and has a similar homestretch as the dirt track. With the track being on the inside, it is smaller with tighter bends, thus it may be advantageous to draw low on pace runners, but all starting points have a reasonable run to the first bend.
This year, four turf races and three dirt races from the Saudi Cup Day will be simulcast to Hong Kong.
Saudi International Handicap and the G2 Neom Turf Cup is run at 2100m around two turns. It starts 300m before the winning post before doing a lap of the track. Horses can win from anywhere, and whilst barriers are of little importance, horses that like to go forward are better served with a low to middle draw.
The 1351m G2 1351 Turf Sprint starts on the backstretch at the end of the first turn giving the runners a nice long run to a sweeping bend that leads into the homestretch. Whilst barriers are of little importance, horses that like to go forward are better served with a low to middle draw.
For the 3000m G3 Red Sea Turf Handicap, runners start on the far side in the backstretch and run approximately 200m to a sweeping bend that leads into the homestretch, before they then complete a full circuit after passing the winning post for the first time. Barriers are of no importance.
The G3 Saudi Derby is one of the dirt races running at 1600m. Runners jump from just inside the chute on the right-hand side of the track that joins the backstretch. They travel approximately 550m before they arrive at what is a long sweeping bend that eventually leads into the homestretch. Barriers are of no importance.
The G3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint is run at 1200m with a relatively short run into the turn. Horses who like to go forward would normally be best served drawn low to middle, but overall, thus far, the draw has been of little consequence.
The feature race 1800m G1 Saudi Cup is the world’s richest horse race at USD 20,000,000. Since the runners will break from half way of the chute, with a long run into the turn, barriers are not an issue. The homestretch is over 400m and there is little bias to running style or position.
Last year's Saudi Cup was run with a field of 13 going to post. PANTHALASSA from Japan took up the early running, whilst TAIBA from the United States sat second with both GEOGLYPH and CROWN PRIDE close in behind. PANTHALASSA set a strong tempo on the front. As approaching the crown of the home turn, PANTHALASSA continued to set a relentless gallop, with TAIBA coming under severe pressure. CAFE PHAROAH, for rider Joao Moriera, shot through on the inside to sit third in behind the leader and GEOGLYPH, with COUNTRY GRAMMER, ridden by Frankie Dettori, finding plenty for pressure in behind the leading trio. On entering the straight, PANTHALASSA continued to gallop strongly with GEOGLYPH in hot pursuit, closely followed by CROWN PRIDE, CAFE PHAROAH and COUNTRY GRAMMER. As the approached the last 100m, PANTHALASSA, who was starting to feel the pinch himself after a herculean effort on the front, was able to see it out to win by 3/4 length, from COUNTRY GRAMMER, who worked home strongly to finish second, CAFE PHAROAH finished in third.
The weather forecast in Riyadh in February is very consistent. There is nearly no chance of rain, and most days are sunny. Therefore, the dirt track should be listed as Fast and the turf should be Firm/Good.
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