Saudi Prince Khalid's Racing Colours - A free extract from Ashforth's Curiosities of Horseracing

PRINCE KHALID CHOOSES HIS CURTAINS

Every racefan recognised Prince Khalid Abdullah’s racing colours and had done for several decades before his death in 2021, aged 83. The colours – green, with a pink sash, white sleeves, pink cap – first entered the winner’s circle when Charming Native won a small race at Windsor in 1979. After that, they were worn by the fortunate riders of many top class horses. The list is a long one – from Known Fact, Rainbow Quest and Dancing Brave in the 1980s through to Kingman, Frankel and Enable.

A member of the Saudi royal family, Khalid Abdullah had a gentle, quiet demeanour and his racing colours were muted, too, yet easy to spot. A long time ago, he told me, “I like to see my colours from a distance but I have a problem with my eyes. When I decided to buy horses, Lord Weinstock visited me and said, ‘You don’t need to find colours, these are your colours’, and pointed to the curtains. The curtains were green, white and pink, so he chose the colours for me.”

Well done, Lord Weinstock, well done Prince Khalid and well done the curtains. Good choice.