Abdul Alsagoor raising the stakes for Saudi jockeys in the US

It is a long way from Najran to California, but that is the route taken by Abdul Alsagoor to become the first jockey from Saudi Arabia to race horses in the US.

The 23-year-old has done more than just race, though, becoming the first person from the Kingdom to win at the famous Santa Anita Park in Los Angeles.

“I have won like 45 (races) so far in this year,” Alsagoor said, “and I’m hoping to continue the successes, the support from the trainer and trying to find the right horses to take me to the winner’s circle.”

John Sadler, a trainer at Santa Anita, said: “He’s been working horses for us and he’s been riding. He’s progressing really well as a jockey. As far as working the horses out in the morning, he’s outstanding.”

Alsagoor was born and raised in Najran, where his father was a racing trainer. From a young age, he knew what he wanted to be.

“My dad trained horses, and from the beginning, I wanted to be a jockey,” he said.

“It was (when I was) 17 years old, I said to my dad, ‘I want to ride horses,’ and my dad would tell me, ‘you’re going to be a little tall’ and I said, ‘no, nothing’s going to affect me.’ (It’s) something I really love, and want to do,” he added.

From that early age, his father put him up against far more experienced jockeys.

“Some of the older riders would say, ‘why are you putting this kid with us? You don’t care about him?’ And my dad would say, ‘just ride with him, don’t worry about him, worry about yourself.’”

In 2019, Alsagoor and his family moved to the US, where, at 19, he began training to be a commercial pilot. When he found out that his flight school, Air Academy, was in the same town as Santa Anita Park, nothing could keep him away from racing.

Having overcome obstacles and