Thirteen-time Spanish champion trainer, Guillermo Arizkorreta has stamped his mark all over Europe and now refocuses his attention on the Middle East with Alcaraz’s (FR) tilt at the $500,000 Saudi International Handicap presented by NHC.
Alcaraz in his final workout prior to his departure for Saudi Arabia (Pic – Jose Rodriguez)
The race, which is open only to horses trained in countries on Parts II and III of the IFHA’s Blue Book, has been a regular target for the Madrid-based handler.
Now making his third visit to Saudi Arabia having had runners in the race for the last two years, his with Sir Roque (FR) recorded the best finish of them all with his fourth-place in 2023.
Formerly trained in France by Jean-Claude Rouget, Alcaraz is Spain’s sole representative in the 2100-metre handicap and faces opposition from Bahrain, Qatar, Italy, Saudi Arabia and the Czech Republic.
“The International Handicap is a very good idea for Part II countries,” said Arizkorreta. “They give us a chance to win big prize money and advertise ourselves, so we are very grateful.
“Coming to Saudi has been very good and we have been very well looked after, always. It has always been a very good experience so it will be great to win one year.”
With around 80 race meetings taking place in Spain annually, Arizkorreta has been keen to spread his wings and take in opportunities further afield.
He explained: “I have always wanted to explore and I have good clients who want to invest a bit of money so if we have a horse good enough to try abroad then we will.
“We have been in many countries – Italy, Switzerland, Germany, the UK and we go every year to Morocco, and we get proper prize money abroad.”
Arizkorreta has a fine training pedigree having spent his formative years with Luca Cumani in the UK, Con Collins in Ireland and his compatriot Carlos Laffon-Parias in France.
Those forays saw him land a Group-race double one afternoon in Germany while he has also struck on the ice with a victory at St Moritz.
“I try to travel as much as possible and I have a few horses in Dubai at the moment,” explained Arizkorreta. “We go to France, which isn’t far, a lot and we try and compete abroad as much as possible.
“We got to 1000 winners at the beginning of the year and it was quite a big number, especially given the number of races we have here in Spain. I was very happy to get to that mark, and I hope to get to 2000 a bit quicker!”
Alcaraz, a six-year-old son of Intello (GER), will have the services of former British champion Silvestre de Sousa when he lines up in Riyadh on February 22, and the trainer added: “The horse came to me last year with some good from in France.
“He has been running alright in Spain and he seems in good form and I hope he runs well.
