Khalid Abdulla
Encyclopedia
Khalid Abdullah is a prince
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
in his homeland although he chooses to not go by his title in his numerous international business ventures. He is a first cousin of Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, is the King of Saudi Arabia. He succeeded to the throne on 1 August 2005 upon the death of his half-brother, King Fahd. When Crown Prince, he governed Saudi Arabia as regent from 1998 to 2005...
and brother-in-law of the late King Fahd
Fahd of Saudi Arabia
Fahd bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, was King of Saudi Arabia from 1982 to 2005...
.
Like many Saudis, Khalid's father kept horses, though not for racing. It wasn't until Khalid went on a trip to the races at Longchamp
Hippodrome de Longchamp
The Longchamp Racecourse is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes in the Bois de Boulogne at Paris, France. Built on the banks of the Seine River, it is used for flat racing and is noted for its variety of interlaced tracks and a famous hill that provides a real...
with some friends that he promised to himself that he would one day own a horse or two.
Introduced to racing in England in the 1960s, he has been actively involved in the sport as an owner and breeder
Breeder
A breeder is a person who practices the vocation of mating carefully selected specimens of the same breed to reproduce specific, consistently replicable qualities and characteristics....
ever since. His vast thoroughbred empire includes three farms in England, two in Ireland, and one in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
—which together are known as Juddmonte Farms
Juddmonte Farms
Juddmonte Farms is a famous and award-winning horse breeding farm, owned by Prince Khalid Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. A member of the Saudi Arabian royal family the successful businessman presides over the massive conglomerate Mawared...
. In North America he was honored with a 1992 Eclipse Award as owner and with another in 1995 as outstanding breeder. His best runner in 1997 was Ryafan, who captured three US Grade 1
Graded stakes race
A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...
races en route to an Eclipse Award for Outstanding Female Turf Horse
Eclipse Award for Outstanding Female Turf Horse
The American Champion Female Turf Horse award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor. It is part of the Eclipse Awards program and is awarded annually to a female horse for her performance on grass race courses....
. Past notable runners have included champions and classic winners Known Fact, Dancing Brave
Dancing Brave
Dancing Brave was a thoroughbred racehorse, foaled in 1983, a bay colt sired by Lyphard out of Navajo Princess. He was purchased as a yearling by Khalid Abdullah for US$200,000 in Kentucky....
, Zafonic
Zafonic
Zafonic was a European Thoroughbred racehorse bred in Kentucky. He was the 1992 European Champion Two-Year-Old Colt and won the following year's 2,000 Guineas.-Background:...
, Quest for Fame
Quest for Fame (horse)
Quest for Fame is a British-bred and British-trained Thoroughbred race horse who won the Epsom Derby in 1990 and who raced successfully in the United States.- References :...
, Commander in Chief
Commander in Chief (horse)
Commander in Chief was a British thoroughbred racehorse, foaled in 1990 by Dancing Brave out of Slightly Dangerous. His damsire was the 1972 Epsom Derby winner Roberto, and his grandsire was Lyphard, a son of Northern Dancer....
, Rainbow Quest
Rainbow Quest (horse)
Rainbow Quest was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and Champion broodmare sire. Bred in Kentucky by British businessman, Alan Clore, he was a descendant of the great Nearco through both his dam, I Will Follow, and his Champion sire, Blushing Groom....
, Danehill
Danehill (horse)
Danehill was a Thoroughbred racehorse who was bred in the United States. During his phenomenal stud career Danehill became a champion sire on both sides of the Equator...
, Wemyss Bight, Bolas, Houseproud, American Post, Sanglamore, Toulon etc. Khalid Abdullah has won almost all of the European Classic races and one American classic, the Belmont Stakes
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
with Empire Maker
Empire Maker
Empire Maker is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Owned and bred by Prince Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte Farms, he was sired by champion Unbridled, winner of the 1990 Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup Classic...
.
In more recent years, Khalid has continued to enjoy success thanks to horses such as the full-sisters Banks Hill
Banks Hill
Banks Hill was a French Thoroughbred Champion filly racehorse. She was bred and raced by Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte Farms. She was sired by Danehill, a multiple Champion sire in England, Ireland, and France and the most successful sire in the history of Australian Thoroughbred racing...
and Intercontinental, both winners of the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf
Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf
The Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for fillies and mares, three years old and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships....
, and Oasis Dream who was rarely unplaced during his career and whose wins included the Darley July Cup
July Cup
The July Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in July....
in 2003. His latest big race success was Frankel
Frankel (horse)
Frankel is a thoroughbred colt racehorse bred by Juddmonte Farms, trained by Sir Henry Cecil and owned by Prince Khalid Abdulla. Named after the renowned and late American trainer Bobby Frankel, Frankel is unbeaten in nine races and is officially rated as the best racehorse in the world...
winning the 2011 QIPCO 2000 Guineas at Newmarket
Newmarket Racecourse
The town of Newmarket, in Suffolk, England, is the headquarters of British horseracing, home to the largest cluster of training yards in the country and many key horse racing organisations. Newmarket Racecourse has two courses - the Rowley Mile Course and the July Course. Both are wide, galloping...
. He believes Dancing Brave
Dancing Brave
Dancing Brave was a thoroughbred racehorse, foaled in 1983, a bay colt sired by Lyphard out of Navajo Princess. He was purchased as a yearling by Khalid Abdullah for US$200,000 in Kentucky....
to be the best horse he has ever owned, but it is the horses he has bred himself at Juddmonte Farms that give him most pleasure when they feature in the winner’s enclosure.
Number of Horses: Over 200
Regular Trainers: Henry Cecil
Henry Cecil
Sir Henry Richard Amherst Cecil is a successful English horse racing trainer who has had many winners in the Epsom Derby, 1,000 Guineas and 2,000 Guineas, Epsom Oaks and the St. Leger Stakes....
, Roger Charlton
Roger Charlton
Roger J. Charlton is an English racehorse trainer and a former flat racing jockey. He trains horses in Beckhampton Stables in Wiltshire, England. He has had many successes as a trainer in England and Europe, including victories in both the Epsom Derby and the Prix du Jockey Club in 1990...
, Barry Hills
Barry Hills
Barry Hills is a British thoroughbred horse trainer. He lives in Lambourn, England.-Biography:Barry Hills had three sons in his first marriage: John, Michael, and Richard. John is a horse trainer, and both Michael and Richard are jockeys. After his divorce, he married Penny Hills, and had two more...
, John Gosden
John Gosden
John Gosden is a racehorse trainer. Having trained over 2,000 winners since his return to England in 1989, including winners of the Breeders' Cup Classic, the Derby, the King George, the 1,000 Guineas and the St. Leger, he is generally considered one of the most successful racehorse trainers of...
, Amanda Perrett
Amanda Perrett
Amanda Perrett is an English horse racing trainer and runs the Coombelands Racing Stables in Pulborough, West Sussex, England. Since she took over Coombelands in 1996 from her father, former champion trainer Guy Harwood, horses trained there have won over three hundred races and generated over...
, Michael Stoute
Michael Stoute
Sir Michael Ronald Stoute is a Barbadian British thoroughbred horse trainer in flat racing. Stoute, whose father was the Chief of police for Barbados, left the island in 1964 at the age of 19 to become an assistant to trainer Pat Rohan and began training horses on his own in 1972...
(Britain), Pascal Bary
Pascal Bary
Pascal Bary is a French racehorse trainer.He has been training since 1981, having previously worked as an assistant to François Boutin...
, Andre Fabre
André Fabre
André Fabre is a French thoroughbred horse racing trainer.The son of a diplomat, Fabre graduated from university with a law degree but then decided to pursue a career in thoroughbred horse racing. He began by working in the stables as a groom then as a schooling rider...
, Criquette Head-Maarek
Criquette Head-Maarek
Christiane "Criquette" Head is considered to be the leading female racehorse trainer in the world.Known as Criquette, she was born into the Thoroughbred horse racing business...
, David Smaga (France), Robert J. Frankel (USA)