Khalid bin Abdullah Al Saud (1937–2021)

Khalid bin Abdullah Al Saud ( Khalid bin ʿAbdullāh Āl Suʿūd; 1937 – January 2021) was a member of the House of Saud. He had extensive business interests, run through Mawarid Holding, but is probably best known as the owner of Juddmonte Farms. As such, he was one of the leading figures in the world of thoroughbred horseracing and the list of outstanding horses to have competed in his racing colours includes Arrogate, Dancing Brave, Enable, and Frankel.

Early life Prince Khalid was one of the sons of Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman, a younger half-brother of King Abdulaziz, the founder of Saudi Arabia. His mother was Noura bint Fahd Al Muhanna Aba Al Khail.

Prince Khalid was born in Ta'if in 1937. He studied history in the United States and Riyadh,Brough Scott. (13 June 2010). The Modest Prince . The Racing Post, Retrieved 11 October 2012. and was employed for a time at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He then embarked on an extremely successful career in business, serving an apprenticeship under the guidance of Sulaiman Olayan."The billionaires" , Fortune magazine, 10 September 1990. Retrieved 11 October 2012.

Business career In October 1980 Khalid bin Abdullah and Suleiman Olayan bought stocks from First Chicago Corporation. They also had stocks of various American banks, including Mellon Bank, Pittsburgh; Western Bancorp, Los Angeles; Valley National Bank, Phoenix; Hawaii Bancorp, Honolulu; Southeast Bancorp, Miami; National City Bank, Cleveland and First Bank Systems, Minneapolis.

The main business vehicle of Khalid bin Abdullah was Mawarid Holding, one of Saudi Arabia's largest and most diversified private businesses, with extensive dealings in financial services, manufacturing, construction, medical supplies, catering, telecommunications and the media.Owen, David. "Breeding: it's all about the pedigree" , The Financial Times, 3 June 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2012. A study of the commercial activities of members of the House of Saud published in 2001 listed 65 separate entities in which Prince Khalid held an interest. He was the owner of Orbit Communications Company, a privately owned Pay TV network operating in Bahrain. Until 8 February 2009 he served as chairman of the Saudi Chemical Company's board of directors and as chairman of Saudi Arabian Amiantit Company.

By the early 2000s responsibility for running his business had passed, in part, to Prince Khalid's four sons."Breeders' Cup Bios: Khalid Abdullah" , Breeders' Cup. Retrieved 11 October 2012.Shulman, Lenny. "Belmont Winner's Owner-Breeder: Pleasant and Perfect", The Blood-Horse, 7 July 2003. Retrieved 11 October 2012.

In 1990, Prince Khalid's wealth was estimated by Fortune magazine at $1.0 billion.

Horseracing career Development Although Prince Khalid's father had owned horses, he had not kept them for racing."Owners: Prince Khalid Abdullah" , British Horseracing Authority. Retrieved 11 October 2012. Prince Khalid's introduction to the sport came on a trip to Longchamp with friends in 1956. Even so, he did not start owning race horses himself until the late 1970s.David Ashforth. (24 May 2002). Khalid Abdullah: Quiet passion of a charming prince who keeps plenty in reserve, The Racing Post, Retrieved 11 October 2012. Prince Khalid's purchases of yearlings at that time heralded the start of the largescale investment in horseracing by owners from the Middle East that was to transform the sport.Patrick Robinson and Nick Robinson. (1993). Horsetrader: Robert Sangster and the Rise and Fall of the Sport of Kings, London: Harper Collins, pp. 135-140.

In 1977 Prince Khalid's first racing adviser, the former trainer Humphrey Cottrill, bought for him four yearlings at the Newmarket sales."Humphrey Cottrill dies at 92", The Racing Post, 1 September 1999. Link to article on The Free Library. Retrieved 11 October 2012. The following year Prince Khalid bought the top two lots in the Houghton Sales at Newmarket, although the top-priced yearling, Sand Hawk, for whom he paid a record 264,000 guineas, proved largely a disappointment; as would Convention, for whom he paid 1.4 million guineas in 1983. However, Cottrill and the trainer Jeremy Tree had also paid $225,000 for a dark bay colt by In Reality at the Keeneland Sales of 1978, their single purchase, who as Known Fact won the Middle Park Stakes in the autumn of 1979 and then, after Nureyev's disqualification, the 2,000 Guineas of 1980, following up his victory with a win in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.

Known Fact's victory in the 2,000 Guineas was not only Prince Abdullah's first victory in an English Classic race but also the first by any Arab owner."Racing: Jeremy Tree dies", The Independent, 9 March 1993. Retrieved 11 October 2012. His first winner of any kind had come the previous season, when Charming Native came home first at Windsor, while Abeer had provided his first victory at Royal Ascot with her win in the Queen Mary Stakes.

Success

Prince Khalid's colours, of green silks with white sleeves and a pink sash and cap, soon became a regular feature of the winner's enclosure in all the Classic races of the world. In 1985, Rainbow Quest won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. The following year, Dancing Brave repeated that success and also won the 2,000 Guineas and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Furthermore, Dancing Brave failed only narrowly to add a victory in the Derby to this remarkable season.Lynch, Michael. "A real prince among owners", The Age, 5 August 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012."Dancing Brave dies", BBC, 3 August 1999. Retrieved 12 October 2012.

In 1982 Prince Khalid had his first homebred winner with Fine Edge at Newmarket. His Juddmonte breeding operation soon produced Warning, by Known Fact out of the broodmare Slightly Dangerous, who became Europe's Champion Miler in the 1988 season. Remarkably, Prince Khalid went on to win all five British Classic races with homebred horses: Quest For Fame, sired by Rainbow Quest, won Juddmonte's first Epsom Derby in 1990, followed by Commander In Chief (a son of Dancing Brave) in 1993, and finally the fourth-generation Juddmonte-bred Workforce, who broke the course record at Epsom with the victory in 2010. Toulon won the St Leger of 1991 and Zafonic carried off the 2,000 Guineas two years later, as did Frankel in 2011. Reams of Verse won The Oaks in 1997 and Enable won The Oaks in 2017. Wince won the 1,000 Guineas in 1999, followed by Special Duty's victory in the same race in 2010.Alastair Downe. (23 July 2010). Lord Grimthorpe Interview . The Racing Post, Retrieved 11 October 2012.Frank Keogh. (5 June 2010). "Workforce storms to victory in the Derby at Epsom", BBC, Retrieved 11 October 2012.Frank Keogh. (5 June 2010). "Workforce shows shades of Shergar", BBC. Retrieved 11 October 2012.

The winner of not just the 2,000 Guineas,Chris Cook. (30 April 2011). "Frankel reaches superstar status after 2,000 Guineas win at Newmarket", The Guardian, Retrieved 27 June 2012. but also of multiple Group One races, including the Juddmonte-sponsored International Stakes at York,Oliver Brown. (23 August 2012). "Peerless Frankel crushes his rivals to reign supreme at York", The Daily Telegraph, Retrieved 20 August 2012. Frankel was bred by Prince Khalid through three generations via his mare Kind."The Frankel Story" , Juddmonte Farms, 27 July 2011. Retrieved 12 October 2012. He is named after Bobby Frankel,McGrath, Chris. "'Duel on the Downs' will prove the worth of Cecil's jewel Frankel ", The Independent, 27 July 2011. Retrieved 12 October 2012. who had trained Prince Khalid's horses in America. Many regard him to be one of the greatest racehorses of all time.Wood, Greg. "Frankel hailed as greatest ever after Royal Ascot Queen Anne Stakes win", The Guardian, 19 June 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2012."Frankel has potential to justify claims of greatness", The Guardian, 3 August 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2012.Armytage, Marcus. "Frankel is the result of a lightning strike of genetics that may not be repeated for 100 years", The Daily Telegraph, 25 August 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2012.

Juddmonte also bred a clean sweep of French Classic winners. Sanglamore won the Prix du Jockey Club in 1990 and New Bay won it in 2015, whilst Houseproud, Zenda and Special Duty won the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches in 1990, 2002 and 2010. Jolypha and Nebraska Tornado won the Prix de Diane, in 1992 and 2003 respectively, and Raintrap and Sunshack were the winners of the Prix Royal-Oak in 1993 and 1995, before American Post took the Poule d'Essai des Poulains in 2004. Finally, there was victory for Rail Link in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe of 2006, a success repeated by Workforce in 2010 (making this horse only the sixth horse in history to win both the Derby and the Arc) and Enable in 2017 and 2018.

In Ireland, the list of Juddmonte-bred successes includes Irish Oaks winners Wemyss Bight and Bolas in 1993 and 1994 and Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Kingman in 2014. In North America, the winning horses include Empire Maker, winner of the Belmont Stakes of 2003 and Flute, the Kentucky Oaks winner in 2003. Juddmonte-purchased Arrogate, winner of four Grade One races including the Dubai World Cup, was crowned Longines World's Best Horse for 2017. Eclipse Award champion mares include Ryafan in 1997, Banks Hill in 2001 and Intercontinental in 2005. The last two of these both won the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, which was also won in 2009 by Midday, a three-time winner of the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood.Riddle, Geoffrey. "Thorough care taken for the 'greatest' thoroughbred'", The National, 14 October 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2012.

At the Breeders' Cup in 2018, homebreds Enable and Expert Eye won the Breeders' Cup Turf and Breeders' Cup Mile respectively.

Recognition In North America, Prince Khalid was the recipient of an Eclipse Award as Top Owner in 1992, 2003, 2016 and 2017, and received five awards as the Top Breeder: in 1995, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2009."A short history of Juddmonte Farms" , the-racehorse.com, 9 January 2008. 18 June Retrieved 2012. In 2003, Prince Khalid finished third in the American owners' championship.

In Europe, Prince Khalid's 78 winners in Britain and 58 winners in France made him the champion owner in both those countries in 2003, and he was British flat racing's champion owner again in 2010, with 74 winners and prize money of more than £3 million. He took the British title once more in 2011, when he had 63 winners and won more than £3.4 million in prize money."Media Release: Frankel (GB) Factfile", Racenews, 29 September 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2012."British Horseracing Fact Book 2011/12" , British Horseracing Authority. Retrieved 12 October 2012.

In 1983 he was made an honorary member of The Jockey Club. In 2023, he was posthumously inducted into the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame as a 'Special Contributor'.

Trainers Prince Khalid's horses were initially trained mainly by Jeremy Tree, to whom he was introduced by Humphrey Cottrill, and by Guy Harwood, who trained Dancing Brave. The circle of European trainers widened to include Henry Cecil, Barry Hills and Criquette Head-Maarek, and now comprises André Fabre, Francis-Henri Graffard and Henri-François Devin in France, Dermot Weld and Ger Lyons in Ireland and John and Thady Gosden, Sir Michael Stoute, Hugo Palmer, Roger Charlton, Charlie Hills, and Ralph Beckett in England. In the US, his horses were for a long time in the care of Bobby Frankel and are now with Bill Mott, Bob Baffert, Brad Cox and Chad Brown.

Juddmonte Farms