Jewel in Kingdom’s sporting crown Juddmonte Farms eyeing Saudi Cup glory

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Saudi Cup contender Tacitus completes trackwork in the lead-up to the $20 million race tomorrow. (Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia/Neville Hopwood)
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Updated 28 February 2020
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Jewel in Kingdom’s sporting crown Juddmonte Farms eyeing Saudi Cup glory

  • Prince Khalid bin Abdullah’s horse ‘Tacitus’ to race at the Saudi Cup on Saturday
  • Saudi-owned Juddmonte Farms has bred some of the most successful horses in recent racing history

When the gates open and the runners and riders get underway in Riyadh on Saturday in the world’s richest horse race, one man will be watching the action with more pride than most.

Prince Khalid bin Abdullah, owner of the hugely successful Juddmonte Farms breeding operation, will not only be closely monitoring the performance of his own horse, Tacitus, in the $20 million Saudi Cup, but will also be celebrating the fact that such a prestigious international race meeting is taking place in the Kingdom for the first time.

Simon Mockridge, director of the UK stud operation, described the Saudi Cup as a “momentous moment” and said that victory in the inaugural event would be “vitally important” to the prince and the entire Juddmonte team.

“I think what we have to remember (is that the Saudi Cup has) an extremely strong field and Tacitus will have to step up to the plate; we’re hoping very much that he can achieve that,” Mockridge told Arab News at Juddmonte’s Newmarket headquarters.

“Prince Khalid’s breeding operation is probably one of the jewels of Saudi Arabian history. It would be very nice if he was able to win the race and I’m sure he and the family would be over the moon. I think being a Saudi he will be very excited to think that they have a race of this magnitude now in Saudi Arabia, and it’s going to create some great waves,” he said.

The Saudi Cup, a two-day meet that begins on Friday at King Abdul Aziz Racetrack, is the latest high-profile event added to the Kingdom’s growing sporting calendar. But while the country only recently embarked on its ambitious program of attracting a host of top-class international sporting events as part of its Vision 2030 development program, over the past four decades Juddmonte Farms has become one of the most recognizable global names in horse breeding and racing.

Founded in 1977 and located a world away from the desert sand of Riyadh in the rolling countryside of Suffolk in England, with further operations and bases in Ireland and Kentucky, Juddmonte Farms has quietly become one of Saudi Arabia’s biggest sporting success stories.

The inexorable rise of Juddmonte, and Prince Khalid, began when Known Fact won the 2000 Guineas Stakes in 1980, a victory that earned the prince a place in the history books as the first Arab owner of the winner of a Classic, the name given to a handful of the most prestigious, elite races in England, Ireland and France.

It marked the beginning of a long and illustrious career for the prince that includes more than 100 Group 1 winners and dozens of Classics winners. According to Mockridge, the secret to that sustained success is down to the building of a highly professional team at Juddmonte and some astute early decisions by the prince.




Frankel is led to his paddock by Juddmonte attendant Rob Bowley. (Darren Tindale, Bronwen Healy)

“I think we have to think back to when Prince Khalid was very active in the market, in the early 1980s,” he said. “He purchased very well, he was advised extremely well and he made very sound decisions. He purchased a lot of good mares and that was his primary focus at the time.

“They were wise decisions, calculated purchases at the time, which he then masterfully guided through wonderful breeding careers. I think globally, if you look at the impact he has had in the 40 years he has been in operation, he’s managed to win every English Classic and every French Classic.

“And to top it all off, he has had in excess of 500 stakes (the most prestigious, and valuable, races, contested by the best horses) winners. So you have to look at him and say that for a medium-sized breeding operation, he has certainly taken the racing and breeding operations to a very high level,” Mockridge said.

Amanda Prior is the general manager of Great British Racing International, which facilitates global investment in British racing and breeding. “It is brilliant to see Prince Khalid Abdullah’s long-serving investment in British racing and breeding continuing to reap rewards,” she said.

“Juddmonte has never had a better stallion roster, attracting world-class mares from all over the world, and will ultimately shape the breed for many years to come.”

It is hard to disagree with her prediction. Juddmonte has bred some of the most successful horses in recent racing history, including the likes of Frankel — the legendary unbeaten horse now standing at stud at the farm’s Banstead Manor base — Kingman, and Danehill, a thoroughbred Mockridge said is “arguably the most important stallion that has stood in the northern and southern hemisphere.”




All five stallions standing at Juddmonte Farms’ Banstead Manor Stud (from left): Bated Breath, Oasis Dream, Frankel, Kingman and Expert Eye. (Bronwen Healy)

And yet despite such consistent global success in the sport, the achievements of Juddmonte Farms and Prince Khalid are still more celebrated outside the Kingdom than within. This is something Mockridge hopes will change when the two-day Saudi Cup meet grabs the racing world’s attention and puts Saudi racing on the map.

He was also full of praise for event organizer Prince Bandar bin Khalid Al-Faisal, chairman of the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, and the work that has gone in to bring an elite racing event to the Kingdom.

“We have to look at the race itself and say this is one of the strongest races that has been run for a great many years, so this is a phenomenal achievement by Prince Bandar and his team,” said Mockridge.

“I think the difficulty for them going forward is how they can maintain the momentum …but there is no doubt they have positioned this race incredibly well and there has been a lot of foresight here.

“I think if you imagine there is now an opportunity for a single horse to win the Breeder’s Cup and the Pegasus, then the Saudi Cup and to go on and win the Dubai World Cup, races that are worth nearly $50 million in total prize money, then I think it’s a great opportunity.”

Douglas Erskine Crum, Juddmonte’s CEO, echoed Mockridge’s thoughts about the bright future for horse racing in Saudi Arabia.

“There will always be many challenges in establishing racing and breeding but I have every confidence that it will be achieved successfully in the Kingdom,” he said. “The team that has put the Saudi Cup together is very impressive.”

Mockridge conceded that some were skeptical early on about whether it was feasible for Saudi Arabia to host top-class horse racing, but he said the work done by Prince Bandar’s team has silenced the doubters.

“The wonderful thing for Saudi Arabia is that they have been able to attract such a strong field at the first time of asking,” he said. “There was a little bit of skepticism right at the beginning, but Prince Bandar and his team have been very progressive with it.

“The fact they have been able to build a turf course in such a short space of time — and apparently it’s riding very well — that’s extraordinary to me that they have been able to do that. For most of us, it would take generations to get a track up and running.

“So, I hope it’s a wonderful success for them and I would like to see lots of young Saudi people coming out of that and coming in to invest in European and American bloodstock. I think it’s important for the future of racing.”

Regardless of which horse is first past the post on Saturday, the Saudi Cup marks the beginning of a new and exciting chapter for racing in the Kingdom. And given the expertise of Prince Khalid, Mockridge and the entire Juddmonte team, their own success story is likely to run and run.

 


Inter Milan scores twice in final minutes to beat Urawa in Club World Cup, 2-1

Updated 22 June 2025
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Inter Milan scores twice in final minutes to beat Urawa in Club World Cup, 2-1

  • Inter Milan takes over the top spot in Group E after following up their tournament-opening draw with the victory

SEATTLE: Valentin Carboni scored the game-winning goal in stoppage time to give Inter Milan a 2-1 win over Urawa in the Club World Cup on Saturday, ending the Japan club’s chances of advancing past the group stage.
Inter Milan failed to score until the 78th minute, despite holding the vast majority of possession. Lautaro Martinez brilliantly bicycle kicked Nicolo Barella’s corner ball into the net.
Carboni’s game-winner assisted by Francesco Esposito came 14 minutes later. It was the culmination of multiple scoring threats by Inter, which had 21 more shot attempts than the Red Diamonds.
Urawa opened the scoring in the 11th minute to the delight of their exuberant fans, who have shown up in droves for these Seattle cup matches. Ryoma Watanabe scored on an assist in transition by Takuro Kaneko, who found Watanabe all alone on the penalty spot with his cutback ball.
The fans in red filled the south end of Lumen Field and made up a large swath of the 25,090 attendees. Their coordinated chants and jeers didn’t wane until after the final whistle.
Key moment
Urawa had a chance to equalize in the last minute of stoppage time, but goalkeeper Yann Sommer tipped the long-distance free kick over the crossbar.
Takeaways
Inter Milan takes over the top spot in Group E after following up their tournament-opening draw with the victory. The Italian club will play River Plate of Argentina on Wednesday.
Urawa will be playing for pride against CF Monterrey on Wednesday.
What they said
“I cannot find the words, I am so frustrated. ... We had the objective to go on to the next stage, so this loss is very hard for us. But we still have one more game to go. ... There are many fans who have come all the way or (are) still remaining in Japan and cheering for us, so we would like to win for them.” — Urawa Red Diamonds goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa
“I was speaking to (Carboni) the day before yesterday, and he told me that it was eight months exactly since his cruciate ligament injury. Coming through an injury like that, with all of the hard work and graft he’s had to put in ... you don’t know whether you’re going to come back to the peak of your powers. That’s not easy at all, so it was lovely to see him so emotional. I was a little bit emotional as well. It brought a tear to my eye because he’s a kid that I know very well. I’m delighted that he has the opportunity now to experience something as significant as that (goal).”


Medvedev defeats old rival Zverev to reach Halle Open final, Bublik awaits

Updated 21 June 2025
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Medvedev defeats old rival Zverev to reach Halle Open final, Bublik awaits

  • “I could have done much better when I had the break in the second but it is normal,” Medvedev said
  • It’s Medvedev’s fourth consecutive win over Zverev

HALLE, Germany: Daniil Medvedev ended home favorite Alexander Zverev’s hopes of grass-court glory with a 7-6 (3), 6-7 (1), 6-4 win in their Halle Open semifinal on Saturday.

Medvedev recovered from squandering three match points on Zverev’s serve at 5-6 in the second set and took nearly 3 hours to get past his old rival and reach his first final in 15 months.

“I could have done much better when I had the break in the second but it is normal,” Medvedev said. “The same happened in the third set that when I had the break, he started playing better, returning better. I am happy that in the third set I managed to stay more composed and managed to save those break points.”

It’s Medvedev’s fourth consecutive win over Zverev and it extended his lead to 13-7 in their head-to-head series.

The Russian player will face Alexander Bublik — who beat top-ranked Jannik Sinner in the second round — in Sunday’s final.

Bublik, the 2023 champion, fired 18 aces as he defeated Karen Khachanov 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the other semifinal.

Medvedev hasn’t played a final since March 2024, when he lost to Carlos Alcaraz at Indian Wells.

Zverev, who had been bidding to reach the Halle final for the third time, will have to wait for his first title on grass.


Bellingham strikes as Dortmund sink Sundowns in Club World Cup thriller

Updated 21 June 2025
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Bellingham strikes as Dortmund sink Sundowns in Club World Cup thriller

  • Sundowns of South Africa took a surprise early lead but Dortmund hit back strongly
  • “It’s a really nice bonus (to score), I’m glad we won,” Bellingham told DAZN

CINCINNATI, USA: Jobe Bellingham netted his first Borussia Dortmund goal in a gripping 4-3 win over Mamelodi Sundowns at the Club World Cup on Saturday.

The English midfielder, who this month followed older brother Jude’s footsteps in joining the German side, started for the first time for Dortmund.

Sundowns of South Africa took a surprise early lead but Dortmund hit back strongly to triumph in sweltering conditions in Cincinnati at the TQL Stadium and move top of Group F.

“It’s a really nice bonus (to score), I’m glad we won but there’s a lot of things for me to improve on personally and for the team,” Bellingham told DAZN.

Dortmund coach Niko Kovac had claimed teams from the “south” had an advantage because of the heat, and the Sundowns 11th minute opener appeared to confirm his fears.

Lucas Ribeiro’s fine solo goal put the CAF Champions League runners-up ahead, with the Brazilian charging forward from his own half before beating Gregor Kobel.

However Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams handed Dortmund their equalizer on a plate, passing the ball straight to Felix Nmecha, who stroked home.

Both stoppers made good saves in an end-to-end clash before Dortmund claimed the lead through striker Serhou Guirassy.

Dortmund won the ball high up the pitch and Julian Brandt crossed for the Guinea international to score with a fine leap and header, continuing his fine form this season.

Bellingham, who joined earlier in June from Sunderland for 33 million euros ($37 million), netted Dortmund’s third just before the break.

Williams parried a cross into his path and after controlling on his chest, Bellingham drilled home.

“I’ve practiced that so many times, arriving late on the edge of the box as a midfielder is something you have to be really good at,” said Bellingham.

“As a kid and at Sunderland I’ve practiced that so many times, during training, after training, so I’m really proud of it.”

His brother Jude signed for Dortmund five years ago, before joining Spanish giants Real Madrid in 2023.


“Hey Jobe,” sang Dortmund fans, adapting the Beatles classic “Hey Jude” which they used to sing to Jude Bellingham.

“I didn’t hear that but it’s really nice,” said the Dortmund midfielder.

Dortmund were toothless in their opening draw against Fluminense but grabbed their fourth when Kuliso Mudau turned into his own net as he tried to cut out a cross.

Three minutes later Iqraam Rayners pulled one back as the Sundowns, who have won the last eight South African league titles, refused to give up.

Rayners, who netted Sundowns’ winner in the first match against Ulsan HD, hit the post with a header and reacted quickly to nod home the rebound.

Portuguese coach Miguel Cardoso’s side pulled back another through Lebo Mothiba in the 90th minute, forcing Dortmund to sweat through six minutes of stoppage time before they were able to celebrate their victory.

“The result is not what we wanted but we made a wonderful game,” Cardoso told DAZN.

“It’s important people understand what was at stake in this match. (Considering) the level of team that we played against, we worked fantastically.

“The boys made a wonderful performance... it was a hell of a match. I’m not happy but very proud.”

Later Saturday in the other Group F clash Fluminense take on Ulsan at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.


Nottingham Forest boss Nuno signs new three-year contract

Updated 21 June 2025
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Nottingham Forest boss Nuno signs new three-year contract

  • The 51-year-old led Forest to a seventh-place finish in the Premier League last season
  • A late slump in form saw them settle for a place in the Europa Conference League

LONDON: Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo was rewarded for guiding his side into Europe by signing a new three-year contract on Saturday.

The 51-year-old led Forest to a seventh-place finish in the Premier League last season, securing European qualification for the first time since the 1995/96 season.

After battling relegation for much of their first two campaigns back in the Premier League after a 23-year absence, Forest were on course to qualify for the Champions League last season.

A late slump in form saw them settle for a place in the Europa Conference League instead and included a flashpoint when owner Evangelos Marinakis confronted Nuno on the pitch after a 2-2 draw against relegated Leicester.

Former Manchester United captain and leading pundit Gary Neville said the Portuguese coach should have resigned in protest at that incident.

However, the former Wolves and Tottenham boss has committed his future to the City Ground and thanked Marinakis for his support since he was appointed in December 2023.

“I am delighted to be able to continue our journey at this fantastic football club,” Nuno said in a club statement.

“Since we arrived at Forest, we have worked extremely hard to create a special bond between the players, the fans and everyone at the club, which helped us achieve great things last season.

“I would like to thank our owner, Mr.Marinakis, for his constant support and backing. It is important to me to share a strong relationship with our ownership and we have thoroughly enjoyed working together ever since I arrived at Forest.”

Marinakis paid tribute to the impact made by Nuno and reiterated his desire for the two-time European champions to be contenders for major trophies once more.

“We enjoy a strong and solid relationship together,” said the Greek shipping magnate.

“Above all, we share the same dream and ambition of writing a new history for Nottingham Forest, competing in the Premier League and in Europe and winning trophies for our great club.”


Ill Mbappe out of second Real Madrid Club World Cup clash

Updated 21 June 2025
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Ill Mbappe out of second Real Madrid Club World Cup clash

  • The French superstar was taken to hospital on Thursday for tests and treatment
  • Mbappe is improving “bit by bit” said the club source

FLORIDA: Ill Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe will not travel to Charlotte for the team’s Club World Cup match against Pachuca, a club source told AFP Saturday.

The French superstar was taken to hospital on Thursday for tests and treatment after suffering gastroenteritis, before later being released.

Mbappe is improving “bit by bit” said the club source, but he will not fly with his team-mates for Sunday’s match against Mexican side Pachuca.

The 26-year-old missed the opening game with the same illness as Madrid were held 1-1 by Al-Hilal in Xabi Alonso’s debut as coach.

Madrid B-team player Gonzalo Garcia, 21, started in Mbappe’s stead and opened the scoring for Real Madrid against their Saudi Arabian opponents.

Mbappe finished as the European Golden Shoe winner in his first season at Real Madrid with 31 goals in La Liga and 43 across all competitions, but Los Blancos finished the season without a major trophy.