Neil Bruss

Neil Bruss has never been one to shy away from a challenge. From Zimbabwe, to South Africa, to Madagascar, to Harare, to the UK to Saudi Arabia and back again, Neil has plied his trade the world over and has recently accepted a 12 month contract in Saudi Arabia, training for Abdulelah Abdul Aziz Almousa at the King Abdulaziz Field Equestrian Club in Riyadh.

Neil explains, “Various Saudi Prince’s and wealthy Arab businessmen have been asking me to come back here to train for them for the last couple of years. My decision was made up after meeting my present employer, who is a really astute and wealthy businessman, and has given me free reign to run the training setup as I please and a generous package.” One gets the feeling that the prospect of a free reign was particularly appealing.

Although it is a bold move, particularly travelling on his own and leaving family and wife Sally Jourdan behind, Neil says he made the decision to leave South Africa for several reasons. “The stake money is very poor and has not kept up with inflation, the training facilities in the Western Cape are inadequate, poor support and being unable to place horses in races where the bigger stables enter anything from 5 to 20 horses in one race all proved serious challenges. I trained for a season in Saudi Arabia in 2009, so I am familiar with the pattern of races here and it has been easy getting to grips with the training schedules needed to produce the results.”

Neil’s contract is with Abdulelah Abdul Aziz Almousa and is renewable on an annual basis. He left for Saudi Arabia in September 2016 and has already made his presence felt. From a string of 50 and having had 10 race meetings so far this season, he has accomplished 7 winners and 11 places from 29 runners and earnings of over R1,5 million.

Training in Saudi

While it can’t be easy giving up home comforts, Neil is enjoying it so far. “The racing has progressed tremendously since my last stint. There are approximately 2500 horses in training and about 750 horses bred annually. The standard of the Saudi-bred horses has improved and their breeding programme is reaching fruition due to the importation of good female lines, which include fillies to race as well as broodmares in foal to good stallions. There are also imports of Merit Rated 100+ horses in training imported from the USA, GB, France and South America.”

Jockeys and riders

Local stables contract jockeys from all over the world, mainly from the USA and South America as well as the local Saudi Arabians. During the Dubai Carnival which runs from the beginning January through to the end of March, top riders are flown in for the Group 1 races and feature events. Neil has contracted some home grown talent in the form of Fransie Herholdt, who has joined him on his international jaunt as stable jockey. While Fransie is committed to Neil’s string, he may request permission to accept outside engagements in races that their stable does not have a runner in. Neil also has a second, light-weight stable jockey.

Grooms are mainly from India, Pakistan and the Philippines with work riders being sourced from South America, Saudi Arabia and India.

In terms of the day to day running of the yard, Neil has two barns, each with its own stable manager as well as an assistant, who is from Chad. “He has been in Saudi Arabia for 18 years and was formerly working for the late King. He speaks good English and is a knowledgeable horseman.”

Facilities

The training and racing is centred around King Abdulaziz Equestrian Club and Google Earth gives a fascinating bird’s eye view of the facilities, clearly showing the layout of the tracks, stables etc. The Club has invested heavily in houses for visiting trainers, quarantine barns, restaurants, veterinary facilities, etc so everything is under one roof, so to speak.

Neil is very complimentary about the race track, labelling it ‘superb’. “The track consists of a sand, gypsum and fine woodchip surface. They’ve got the watering of the track down to a fine art and moisture readings are taken 8 times over a 24 hour period and the exact amount is laid down hourly (during the day) and whenever necessary during the night.”

Neil explains, “The main race course is 2000m in circumference with two chutes. One into the back straight and the other joining into the home straight at the 400m point. There are no 1000m races but from 1200m to 2000m the course is straight until the home turn starts at the 800m mark. The run in is 400m to the line. For 2200m and 2400m races, the longest we have, the horses start up the straight from the front chute, which enables jockeys to get a position before the first bend. The bends are slightly cambered and jockeys can make their run from 600m out going 6 or 7 wide and as long as they do not have to check, they can win from there as well as from any other position. It’s a very fair track and kind to the horses legs.”

Track work starts at 3am on the main course as well as an 1800m oval training track and both are floodlit until sunrise (currently approximately 5:50am). However Neil confirms that most training is finished by then.

Racing

Racing is very strictly controlled. While there are big crowds on feature race days, there is not much in the way of media coverage (although anyone wanting to follow Neil, Fransie or UAE racing in general can click on www.sakab.com).

The main racing season is in Riyadh and takes place from 1 October through to the end of March (during the winter months). Racing takes place every weekend through the season on Fridays and Saturdays with 10 races carded for each day. There is a second track in Riyadh where they have a 10 race program every Thursday for lesser grade horses.

Because of the punishing summer temperatures, which can push the mercury up as high as 50 degrees, during the summer months, racing moves to a city named Taif, situated about 700kms away and 1500m above sea level. Saudi racing continues there from July through to the end of September and Neil says that it also offers “a nice track with a good galloping surface.”

Prize money

One of the biggest draw cards in Saudi Arabia is the prize money and the figures look even better in South African rands. A maiden stake pays the equivalent of R265K, handicaps are worth R375K and Listed races R560K. The Group races are even more lucrative, with stakes of R750K for a Gr3, R1 million for a Gr2 and anywhere from R1,5 to R2.5 million for a Gr1. Stakes are paid out at 35% to the winner and 25% to second, right down to 5th in every race, so place money is very good. “If you run 4th it is the same as winning a race in Cape Town. Now that tells you something!” he laughs.

String

Neil has a string of 50 and has hopes of qualifying for the 2017 Dubai Carnival. “An imported horse that we are pinning our hopes on is a 4 year old Argentinian-bred named Incentive Boy (ARG) who raced in Chile. He is an 8 time winner from 11 runs (including four Group 1’s and a Group 2) and won the Chilean Triple Crown. He is due to have his first start soon in preparation for the Gr2 Crown Prince Cup over 2400m in December (worth approximately R1 million), after which we will aim him for the King Abdulaziz Cup in February, which carries a stake equivalent to R2,25 million. Should he crack one of these, we will look at Dubai, possibly the World Cup should he get an invite. If not the World Cup we will look at a suitable race during the Dubai Carnival. He is presently rated 117 but we have a long way to go yet.”

“Another nice horse in the stable is a 5 year old 11 time winner by Oratorio x Guilia named God’s Speed. He won a Listed 1400m for us in his first run since March over 1400m carrying 62kgs and clocked 1.24 and change. We may look for a small feature in Dubai for him as well. A great dirt horse with a good turn of foot.”

From the J&B Met, to the King’s Cup to the World Cup Carnival, the straight- shooting trainer has seen and done it all and he’s not done yet by a long chalk. We wish him all the very best in his international endeavours.