Former South African Champion Trainer Geoff Woodruff saddled his first runner at the King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh, Saudi-Arabia on Thursday afternoon.
The filly, named Nassraat, raced near last into the bend in a 20-horse Maiden Plate over 1400m on dirt, but unleashed a storming finish from easily 15 lengths off the pace to win going away.
Geoff Woodruff with Nassraat and the winning team
Woodruff was surprised and relieved.
He told the Sporting Post: “This is a weight off my shoulders. I was wondering if I’d be able to train winners on this foreign track and in the new conditions and evidently I can!”
Woodruff said that Nassraat is an average filly who’d shown moderate work in her time with him. “Jockey Eddie Castro gave her a workout on Tuesday, I was going to scratch her but we decided to see how she’d go and she surprised us.”
The trainer said that his employer, Sheikh Abdulelah Abdul Aziz Almousa, was delighted with the win and that they had a short meeting after the race.
“It’s a wonderful start to our association, and now I can look forward with much more confidence to our plans for the Sheikh’s stable, Al Sawami. We have eight barns at the training centre, room for 300 horses in our stable alone. But we only have one barn occupied with 21 runners at the moment, including a few US-breds and a handful from Ireland. There are some who have raced a few times, and about 12 two-year-olds among them. I’ve started with a fresh, lightly raced string which is big plus.
“We’ll be going to Keeneland for the Fasig-Tipton Sale next year and we’re hoping to buy 12 runners to bring into the yard here in Saudi. We’re aiming at a quality string of 50-60 runners. The Sheikh likes fillies, he wants at least six fillies from Keeneland. He’s a young man, actually, only 48 years old, and his two sons are also keen on racing. Our relationship is cordial and professional and I really have a lot going for me now,” Woodruff enthused.
Recently, Sheikh Abdulelah Abdul Aziz Almousa also invested in Boundless Ocean, a three-year-old colt by Teofilo who won three races for Jim Bolger in Ireland. “He looks a quality type and while I don’t think we’ll go for the 2022 Saudi Cup, next February, we’ll probably aim him at one of the other rich races on the day.”
There is muscle behind Woodruff, and good prize money available to his runners. He said: “My patron is a major property developer. He is one of the developers of Neom, a new city being built in Tabuk Province in northwestern Saudi Arabia. It is planned to incorporate advanced city technologies and function as a tourist destination, a mammoth project for the Saudis.”
Geoff Woodruff – a legend of the SA training ranks
The stakes on offer range from 50,000 Saudi Riyals (about R230,000) to 150,000 Riyals (near R700,000) for the upper division handicaps. There are 6000 horses in training, racing is competitive. They race all year round, three times a week and opportunities are plentiful. Woodruff said: “Of course it’s warm, it was 44 degrees celsius the other day, but it’s a dry heat and you don’t sweat. There is no humidity. The Saudi homes are roomy and air-conditioned, I live near the stables and I am perfectly happy. The stables are designed for the heat, they’re all air-conditioned too. We pull the horses out at 5am for work, and they’re back in their stables by 8am. Then, late afternoon, they have a 20-minute walk when the temperature cools down. We’re heading into winter, it’s quite cool at night.”
Woodruff said that he’s enjoying working with his stable’s handlers. “They come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Phillipines and they’re hard workers, good horsemen. There is a tranquility around them. They love horses and get on with what they have to do, a bit like the grooms in Dubai. There is a dedicated and professional spirit among us and the horses are relaxed and happy as a result.”
The trainer has already been noticed by a few of the Saudi ‘old-timers’ and he told: “There are some trainers and handlers here that speak good English, they’ve been supportive. One came up to me the other day and said, ‘I like you. You remind me of Neil Bruss, you train like him.’ “
The late Bruss was most successful in his own Saudi spell – he trained two rank outsiders to place in the 2009 Dubai World Cup, and Woodruff commented: “It’s really a question of basics, and I haven’t wavered from my own tried and tested principles. You have to keep a horse sound, get it as fit as you can and feed it well. I think Nassraat improved to win because I have changed her feed and she ran to her best. The little things make a difference.”
Woodruff’s wife Carol will be joining him in Saudi for her first visit soon and he said: “Saudi Arabia have relaxed their laws and I find it a very safe and nice place to live. I had physiotherapist Sue Franklin here the other day and she loved it. Western women don’t have to cover themselves up, moderate dress is fine. We don’t have alcohol, but I, for one, don’t need it and the laws keep everyone safe. We have access now to Netflix and websites, so it’s pretty much a normal lifestyle.”
Just a few months ago Woodruff (66) was lying on a beach in Mauritius, ready to retire.
“Robin Bruss and the Saudis tracked me down and I am so happy they did. We have a three to five year plan, I believe Sawami Stable is destined for big things and I am fortunate to be a part of it. I am back doing what I love, with good earning potential.”
