The Arabian Racing Organisation’s (ARO) 2025 season returns at Wolverhampton on Monday 7^th April with increased prize money adding to the excitement around the returning series. This year, all Arabian races run in the UK will be worth a minimum of £6,000 thanks to a host of new sponsors.

During the off season ARO have teamed up with the likes of CarbonetZero Ltd, Rapido Racing, Newmarket Equine Salt Therapy System and Cre Run allowing the organisation to boost the prize money across the board throughout the new campaign. Al Nujaifi Racing Ltd will support the ARO season in the UK this year with three horses in-training, while they will also sponsor two races including a new £15,000 Fillies & Mares Listed Purebred Arabian (PA) Stakes at Windsor in June.

Highlights of the ARO season in 2025 include the Qatar International Stakes, run at the Qatar Goodwood Festival, which will be worth £400,000. The UAE President Cup is back as part of the St Leger Festival this year and has also seen its prize money increase to £400,000.

There will also be two handicaps worth £10,000 each that will feature as part of the 2025 ARO season.

James Owen has trained purebred Arabians since 2015 and has been crowned Leading Arabian Trainer in the UK six times. Owen has trained Arabian winners around the world including in the UK, Belgium and Holland and is keen to retain his association with the breed. Owen has won the Arabian Racing Achievement Award at the HWPA Derby Awards on three separate occasions.

Owen trains across all codes including National Hunt and Flat as well as Arabian. He trained his first Group 2 winner on the flat last year in his first full season with a licence in the shape of Wimbledon Hawkeye. The Gredley Family-owned colt won the Juddmonte Royal Lodge Stakes (G2) impressively and is one of the leading players in this year’s Derby.

Ahead of the new ARO season, Champion Trainer, James Owen said, “We’ve got nine Arabians this season. We’ve got a good mixture of some horses who did well last season and some horses who did well last year but are still developing. They’ve done really well over the Winter, and we’re really pleased with how they are training.”

He added, “I think it’s great that we’re racing for good prize money. All the races are worth over £6,000 and there are some really good incentives for some of the mid range handicaps, where a win can almost half pay for your season.”

ARO Chief Executive, Genny Haynes, said, “We are delighted to confirm this season’s programme of Arabian races, which will take place at racecourses across Britain. Our thanks go to our new sponsors CarbonetZero Ltd, Rapido Racing, Newmarket Equine Salt Therapy System and Cre Run for their support this season, which has meant we have been able to invest significantly into the prize money available at all levels across the programme. Likewise, to Al Nujaifi Racing Ltd, who will have three horses in training this season alongside their sponsorship of the new Fillies & Mares Listed race at Windsor.”

“The two highlights of the Arabian racing season in Britain, both worth £400,000 this season, will take place alongside two of the summer’s most popular thoroughbred racing festivals. The Qatar Goodwood Festival will once again host the Group 1 Qatar International Stakes, whilst the UAE President’s Cup will sit alongside the World’s Oldest Classic on Betfred St Leger Day at Doncaster, and becomes Europe’s richest 4-year-old only Arabian race.”

Further details can be found at www.aroracing.co.uk

Notes to editors:

ARO 2025 FIXTURE LIST

April Mon 7th Wolverhampton (AW)

Mon 28th Lingfield Park (AW)

May Tue 13th Chepstow

Fri 23rd Bath

Thu 29th Lingfield Park

June Tue 10th Wolverhampton (AW)

Thu 12th Great Yarmouth

Mon 23rd Wolverhampton (AW)

Sat 28th Windsor

July Wed 2nd Bath

Sat 12th Chester (LA)

Thu 17th Chepstow

Wed 30th Goodwood

August Mon 4th Lingfield Park

Sat 16th Doncaster

Sun 17th Southwell (AW)

Sun 31st Brighton

September Mon 8th Windsor

Sat 13th Doncaster

Tue 30th Bath

(AW) All Weather courses

(LA) denotes a late afternoon meeting

News

RACING WELFARE BEST TURNED OUT AWARD WINNERS REWARDED

23rd December 2024 ARO

Racing Welfare Best Turned Out Individual Award winner Sue Wileman (with ARO leading horse Coljani) © Debbie Burt

ARO also recognises the racing charity’s invaluable support

Monday 23 December 2024 –

The Arabian Racing Organisation (ARO) warmly congratulates Sue Wileman and trainer, Delyth Thomas, recipients of the Racing Welfare Best Turned Out series award winners for 2024. Each were presented with cash awards of £150 for gaining the most points, as an individual and stable respectively, throughout this UK Arabian racing season.

As 2024 draws to a close, ARO have also made a donation to Racing Welfare in recognition of all the support they have given Arabian racing and its staff since the association between the two organisations was established in 2017.

Genny Haynes, ARO Chief Executive Officer said, “ARO is extremely grateful Racing Welfare, who have been supporting the Best Turned Out award series for seven years, recognising all our hard-working staff on course and behind the scenes. We congratulate Sue, Delyth and all Delyth’s team who do such a brilliant job of presenting their horses in such a professional manner, which is a great credit to our sport.

“Racing Welfare supports all the people within British Horseracing by offering practical help and professional guidance and this donation recognises the invaluable assistance they have already given to Arabian racing and its participants. We look forward to continuing to work with them in 2025.”

Next race: 7 April 2025

2024 ARO Leaders

News

ARO CONGRATULATES THE 2024 SEASON LEADERS

9th December 2024 ARO

Home Grown Success Rewarded

The Arabian Racing Organisation (ARO) warmly congratulates all of the season’s leaders for their success in 2024. Newmarket based James Owen has already been recognised with the Arabian Racing Achievement Award at the Horserace Writers and Photographers Association Annual Derby Awards Lunch, having regained his leading trainer title and assisted stable amateur Teagan Padgett to a second consecutive leading jockey title. Significantly he also became the first UK based leading owner since 2003, when it was won by Michael Brunton.

The leading Arabian, Coljani, was co-owned and bred in the UK by his trainer Peter Hammersley, with Trevor Banks and Micheal Flack of the Raffles Partnership. Banks (with his late brother Colin, for whom the horse is named), has been in the sport for over 20 years and this success marks a poignant personal achievement as well as deserved reward for his and Flack’s patience, having also bred the dam, Our Dream.

The leading sire title went to the second season stallion, RB Burn, due mainly to the successes of James Owen’s homebred Victoria and to Al Asayl Bloodstock’s Rich Pulls Pitch, in whose colours RB Burn also raced. Rich Pulls Pitch later went on to secure the top price in the Horses In Training segment of the Auctav Arabian Autumn Sale at €18,000.

James Owen commented: It’s fantastic to be leading owner with my home breds, I’ve really enjoyed watching them race, and to see how they’ve developed from three to four years. To be leading owner against some big outfits from overseas is lovely. I only had a couple of horses, but my riders ride them, and we’ve been able to race them a lot, and they’ve won or been placed on nearly every run. I’m looking forward to running their relations next season.

“It’s also great to be leading trainer again as I learnt my trade with the Arabians and it’s nice that I’ve been sent some better horses again, since the Shadwell days, that I can compete with at the higher levels. They’ve run well all year. Going to the Arc was great, though it was shame we couldn’t get a prep run in, as First Classs came in a bit too late to us, but I thought he ran very well and we all had a great experience over there.

“Credit must also go to Lissie Reeves, my Arabian Assistant, who has been a big help planning their races and representing me on racedays. She’s learnt a lot this season by doing it and hopefully one day she can train Arabians in her own right.”

Teagan Padgett commented: “I think my season highlight was riding Victoria. It was really nice to ride a filly that we broke in here last year and it’s nice to see her progress. I’m considering getting my apprentice licence out next year, I just need to get the winter out of the way first.”

Peter Hammersley commented: “Coljani had a few muscle issues last year that I didn’t want to repeat, but once I’d got more confidence in him being ok, we put some serious work into him and then he had those five runs where he wasn’t out of the first three. That Lingfield win was incredible, Colin [Banks] would have been so proud of him, and I thought Paddy [Bradley] gave him a brilliant ride to win at Chepstow too, though Marco Ghiani also deserves some credit for teaching him to settle earlier in the season.”

Micheal Flack commented, “It’s been great, this project started 11 years ago when Trev invited me to Ireland to watch Forgehill Cosaque and then we bred Our Dream. To be having the success that we’ve had this year, it means a lot. We missed out with Our Dream unfortunately, but we made it with Coljani.”

Trevor Banks commented, “Coljani is versatile as to trip, every jockey that gets off him loves him, he’s so tough and honest. He has got a little bit about him. You need luck to go with you and not against you in this business, but we’d hope there’s more to come next year.”

Genny Haynes, ARO Chief Executive Officer said, “We are delighted for James, Lissie, Teagan and the team at Green Ridge Stables, as well as for Peter, Trevor and Micheal with Coljani. That our leader’s success has been primarily down to horses that they have bred themselves is also extremely important for the grass roots of our sport.

“We are also pleased to see a new stallion come to the fore in RB Burn, particularly one that represents a new owner to us in the UK in Al Asayl Bloodstock. We have also had other new owners join us this year and we hope that their success will encourage more new owners, as well as past owners to return in 2025.

“We also thank Farm and Stable and The Arabian Racehorse for sponsoring our awards this season and look forward to the start of the season on April 7^th with the fixture list and race plan to be published shortly, together with a registration incentive’.

2024 ARO Leaders

News

JAMES OWEN GAINS THIRD ARABIAN RACING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

3rd December 2024 ARO

2024 Horserace Writers and Photographers Association Annual Derby Awards Lunch

Tuesday 3 December 2024 –

Yesterday afternoon the Arabian Racing Organisation (ARO) proudly recognised the achievements of Newmarket based trainer James Owen, who was presented with a third Arabian Racing Achievement Award by Pierce Dargan of Equine MediRecord. The award was given as part of the Horserace Writers and Photographers Association Annual Derby Awards Lunch, held at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, London on Monday December 2.

This year Owen, who is now in his second season holding a full licence from the British Horseracing Authority, has secured over 100 winners under three codes, in Flat, National Hunt and Arabian racing. He secured his sixth ARO trainers title, in addition to a first ARO owners title, becoming the first domestic based winner of that award since 2003, when it was won by Michael Brunton.

He started the season with just three Arabians, last year’s leading horse, Upstart Crow, owned by his Arabian assistant Lissie Reeves and her mother, Linda, as well as two homebred fillies, Victoria and Delicatesse. All three have been winners this year and as the season progressed, he gained two fillies from Al Nujaifi Racing, Amirat Al Zaman, Fareedhat El Izz and two filles for new UK syndicate Okewood Bloodstock, Hibikinada Du Mazet and Zizania Du Mazet. Last to arrive were the multi-million-dollar winner, First Classs, and Winds Of Fortune from Cre Run Farm to summer in the UK before returning to leading UAE trainer Doug Wason for a winter campaign. All bar First Class won, though First Classs had a tough assignment to make his seasonal return in Paris, giving Owen his first runner in the Qatar Arabian World Cup.

Always a supporter of young jockeys, one of his stable amateur’s Teagan Padgett, secured a second ARO jockeys’ title. Under rules, his apprentice, Sean Dylan Bowen became Champion Apprentice, whilst Alex Chadwick, himself a dual ARO leading jockey, secured the Gentleman’s Champion Amateur title in the Amateur Jockeys Association Championship.

With his thoroughbreds he has gained black type wins under both codes with Burdett Road, Wimbledon Hawkeye and East India Dock, and has plenty to look forward to at the highest level in all spheres in 2025.

James Owen and the team at Green Ridge Stables with recent Cheltenham winners Burdett Road (right) and East India Dock © Debbie Burt

James Owen commented: “I’m delighted to win this award again. So pleased to still be involved in Arabian racing as I learnt my trade with them, and to be leading trainer for a sixth time as well as enjoying success with my thoroughbreds on the Flat and jumping.”

Genny Haynes, ARO Chief Executive Officer said, “We are thrilled for James. Since taking out his full licence he has shown that it is possible to successfully train Arabians alongside thoroughbreds at all levels, which is a great example to all. He has also maintained a connection with his roots by supporting amateur riders and we wish him every success next season.

“We also thank ARO’s Associate Sponsor Equine MediRecord for their continued support of Arabian racing and for their sponsorship of this award at one of the British racing industries most prestigious events which brings our sport to a much wider audience each year.”