Roberto Perez ridden Tallaab Al Khalediah has achieved a win in the 2018 Kahayla Classic. He has managed to maintain his unbeaten record and now has straight five wins under his belt. After winning the 2018 Kahalya Classic he has now become the first Saudi Arabian trained horse to achieve this feet.
He faced tough competition in the race as he was racing against the odds with racers like Af Marrah, Paddy's Day, Ziyadd, Al Zahir, Barnamaj.
The race was a tight one and a close call for Mutlaq bin Mashref trained Tallaab Al Khalediah. Perez, who was celebrating his first Group 1 PA victory, explained about the bridle mishap last time: “Yes, the bridle came off in his last race, but I managed to get it back on and they changed a few things today to stop it happening again.” “I feel so excited,” he added. “It is the second big win for this horse and I have ridden him both times. When I put him into the front I knew I had to save a little bit as he has been winning over 1800m and had 200m more to go today, but he stayed it well. The race went very well and he did nothing wrong.”
Oisin Murphy ridden Chaddad came in second, he said “He ran a cracker. He jumped slow, but finished well and it was a very good race. He is the best Arabian I have ridden.”
Jim Crowley ridden Barnamaj came in third, he said “He hasn't been out of the first three all year and has ran so well again. We got a little bump at one stage, but it didn't make any difference at the end.”
By Apurva Chavan, Racing Writer, apurva.chavan@secretariatsworld.com