The horse “Al-Douh” and the mare “Excited Lady” were crowned with the Prince Saud bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Cup for horses and mares, respectively, in the most prominent competitions of the twenty-eighth ceremony hosted by the King Abdulaziz Equestrian Square in Riyadh, on Saturday, within the fourth week of the “Riyadh Racing Season,” which witnessed the holding of the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth celebrations on Friday and Saturday.
The horse “Al-Douh”, owned by Abdulaziz Musaed Salem Al-Salem, clinched the Prince Saud bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Hosn Cup, after excelling in the tenth round, extending over a distance of 1,600 metres, under the supervision of trainer Badan Al-Subaie and led by Al-Khayal Muhammad Al-Yami. Prince Saud bin Salman bin Abdulaziz handed the cup to the winning stable crew after the end of the half.
In the ninth round, designated for the Prince Saud bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Cup for Mares, “Excited Lady”, owned by Al-Shafi’ Muhammad Ali, succeeded in winning the race over a distance of 1,600 metres, led by Al-Khayal Khalid Al-Maimoni and under the supervision of trainer Badan Al-Subaie, who thus achieved two successive victories in the two rounds of the cup. Prince Saud bin Salman bin Abdulaziz handed over the mares’ cup to the winning stable crew.
The eleventh round, which was held for the Abdullah bin Ibrahim Aba Al-Khail Appreciation Award for a distance of 1800 metres, witnessed the victory of the horse “Lalla Durrah”, owned by the sons of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, under the supervision of trainer Ahmed Mahmoud and the horseman Camilo Ospina. Prince Abdullah bin Miteb bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz received the appreciation award after the end of the race.
At the conclusion of the twenty-eighth ceremony’s competitions, “God Bless You,” owned by Al-Khalaibis Stable, won the twelfth heat over a distance of 1,600 metres, led by horse rider Nawaf Al-Madian and supervised by coach Fahd Al-Abdul-Moneim.
The ceremony's competitions began with Al-Ghalia, owned by Fahd Abdulaziz Al-Jabr, winning the first half over a distance of 1,200 metres, led by Al-Khayal Muhammad Al-Yami and supervised by coach Abdullah Al-Hamad.
In the second half, "Ya Karim", owned by Prince Faisal bin Khalid bin Abdulaziz, achieved first place in the race extending for a distance of 1,400 metres, under the supervision of coach Salman Al-Adhiyani and led by the horseman Nawaf Al-Madhiani.
The stable of Prince Faisal bin Khalid bin Abdulaziz continued its presence in the third half, after “We Are All Al Khafji” snatched victory over a distance of 1400 metres, led by the horse Ricardo Ferreira and under the supervision of coach Salman Al Adhyani, so that the stable achieved two successive victories.
As for the fourth half, which was held for a distance of 1,400 meters, the victory of “Lamaa Saja”, owned by Mohammed Fahd Mohammed Azab, under the supervision of coach Bassam Al-Mousa and the leadership of the horse, Alexis Moreno.
In the fifth round, Afzal Muhaymin, owned by Adiyat Al-Qaed stable, succeeded in achieving victory over a distance of 1,600 metres, led by Al-Khayal Raed Al-Fayrouz and supervised by trainer Ali Al-Amil.
The title of the sixth round went to Al-Ghabra, owned by the stable of Mubarak Bin Hindi Al-Khalidi Sons Company, after it won the race over a distance of 1,600 metres, led by Al-Khayal Victor Gutierrez and supervised by coach Saleh Al-Midfa.
In the seventh round, Riyad Riddell, owned by Athba Racing Stable, outperformed his competitors in a 1,600-meter race, led by Alexis Moreno and supervised by coach Mustafa Al-Moussa, adding Moreno his second victory during the ceremony.
The eighth half witnessed the victory of “Ana Ashhad”, owned by Sheikh Abdullah Hamoud Al-Malik Al-Sabah, in the race extending for a distance of 1,600 meters, led by the horse Ricardo Ferreira and under the supervision of coach Abdullah Al-Sidrani, so that Ferreira in turn achieved his second victory of the evening.
The Saudi national team will play two international friendly matches against the national teams of South Korea and Uzbekistan, on the 13th and 17th of November, at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in the Qatari capital, Doha, as part of the “Green” preparation program for upcoming international matches, as part of the technical staff’s efforts to enhance the players’ readiness and determine their technical and physical levels.
The Saudi national team will begin its friendly matches by meeting the South Korean national team, on Friday, November 13, at 5:30 pm, before facing the Uzbekistan national team, on Tuesday, the 17 of the same month, at 6:30 pm, in two tests that are expected to provide the technical staff with an important opportunity to evaluate the team’s performance against two different football schools at the Asian level.
The confrontation with South Korea is of special technical importance, given the Korean national team’s international experience and technical and physical capabilities, in addition to its ability to play at a high tempo and rely on speed in offensive transitions, which gives the Saudi national team players the opportunity to test their defensive capabilities and the extent of their ability to deal with pressure during the match periods.
On the other hand, facing Uzbekistan represents a different test for the “green” team, in light of the development that Uzbek football has witnessed in recent years, and the physical strength and tactical organization that characterizes its team, which allows the technical staff to evaluate the players’ ability to deal with different defensive methods and find appropriate offensive solutions.
It is expected that the two matches will constitute an opportunity for the technical staff to try out a number of technical options, and determine the extent of harmony between the team’s lines, in addition to evaluating the readiness of the elements that may get the opportunity to participate, which will contribute to expanding the base of options available during the next stage.
The international break also represents an opportunity to address some technical aspects, especially those related to offensive effectiveness, the speed of transition between defensive and offensive states, and strengthening organization on the field, which are elements that constitute great importance in building a team capable of providing stable levels against competitors.
The two matches come at a time when the aspirations of the Saudi fans are increasing for the team to appear in an artistic way that reflects the capabilities of its players and confirms its ability to compete in international competitions, especially since such confrontations give the technical staff important indicators that go beyond the results of friendly matches to evaluating collective and individual performance.
The focus during the two Doha matches will be on the extent to which Al-Akhdar has benefited from international experiences, and his ability to translate technical work into balanced performance on the field, in light of the importance of technical stability and raising the level of harmony between the players.
The confrontations with South Korea and Uzbekistan remain important milestones in the Saudi national team’s preparation process, and an opportunity to measure the level of technical development and determine the aspects that need more work before participating in the upcoming official matches.
Al-Nasr clinched the lead in the Saudi Women’s Premier League, after deciding the summit match against its host Al-Qadisiyah with an unanswered goal on Saturday in Al-Khobar, at the end of the seventh round, which witnessed Al-Ittihad’s victory in the Jeddah derby and two victories for Al-Hilal and Al-Ula.
Nisreen Bahlouli gave Al-Nasr the winning goal, which raised its score to 18 points to finish the first half of the league competitions in the lead, two points ahead of Al-Qadisiyah, which fell to second place after suffering its first loss this season.
The confrontation brought about a direct change in the arrangement of the summit. Al-Qadisiyah entered it leading, before the sixth victory gave Al-Nasr the advantage at the end of the first leg, and kept the conflict open with Al-Qadisiyah and Al-Ittihad, which are equal on points.
In Jeddah, Al-Ittihad decided the derby match against its host, Al-Ahly, with a clean score in the match that brought them together on Friday at Al-Ahly club stadium, to emerge with one of the most prominent gains of the round and continue its presence in the lead race.
Lina Bousaha scored two goals, and Saba Tawfiq added the third goal, raising Al-Ittihad’s score to 16 points in third place behind Al-Qadisiyah on goal difference, while Al-Ahly’s score stopped at 4 points in seventh place after suffering its fifth loss.
Al-Hilal opened the round on Thursday with a 4-0 win over NEOM at Jeddah Club Stadium, with Ibtisam Jaradi scoring two goals, and Asisat Oshoala and Manar Al-Enezi scoring one each. Al Hilal raised its score to 13 points in fourth place, maintaining its proximity to the top three, while NEOM remained sixth with 5 points.
In Qatif, Al-Ula achieved the highest scoring tally in the round after defeating its host, Esperance, 5-2, on Friday, at the Esperance Club Stadium.
Al-Ula's quintet came from Auba Clement and Michel Ayyam, with two goals each, and Aya Majali, while Egybina scored the two goals for Esperance.
With this victory, Al-Ula raised its score to 9 points in fifth place, achieving its third victory, while Esperance finished the first leg in eighth place without points after losing its seven matches.
The curtain came down on the round with a total of 15 goals, and the victory of all the guest teams, while Al-Nasr, Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal succeeded in coming out with clean sheets, so the competition entered the second leg with a difference of only two points between the leaders and their closest pursuers.
