It is only a matter of a few metres between the glitzy winners’ enclosure and the free grandstand at Meydan racecourse – close enough for the public to see the owners of New Trails, stoic winner of the big handicap on the opening night of the season, receive a cheque for Dh126,000.
But to be perturbed by this is to misunderstand horse racing, sport’s great leveller. Week after week around the world, rich and poor descend on the same patch of earth, brought together by a shared emotional investment in the thoroughbred. Every time these horses run, we saddle them with hopes and expectations. When they respond – when they really knuckle down to the task – it stirs something deep within us. It has nothing to do with money.
Which is a good thing, since winning any money at Meydan seems to be an aspiration reserved only for the dreamers. Thursday evening’s meeting was my first experience of racing in the UAE. I’m more accustomed to enduring horizontal rain in a corner of England that sunshine forgot, as three horses slog through the mud.
What I quickly learnt on arrival is that, rather than placing a traditional bet with a bookmaker (don’t worry, I wasn’t actually expecting that), racegoers here are invited to pick the winners of six races on the card (Dh12,000 is the first prize). Turns out that’s quite tricky. Full disclosure: one winner, five unplaced horses. Work to be done.
No-one seems to mind, though. If this was about gambling, the place would be empty. But well before the first race at 6.30pm, the stands were alive with crowds of people, all wearing the blue “Meydan” caps handed out on the gate. It was a carnival atmosphere, no doubt partly because of Flag Day but also, I sense, because the frustration of a racing-free summer was finally over. With meetings taking place at Meydan almost every Thursday evening from now right through to March, racing in Dubai is clearly something that has become enmeshed within people’s weekly routine.
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Read more:
Doug Watson off the mark with fours winners at Meydan Racecourse
Breeders' Cup: William Buick survives steward inquiry as Godolphin's Line Of Duty wins Juvenile Turf
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Some were eating picnics on rugs, others were making use of the comfy, cinema-like seats in the grandstand (note to British racecourses: this is an excellent idea). The restaurants were busy and the Kids’ Zone was as chaotic as it should be. The weather helps, of course, but an evening meeting in Britain simply wouldn’t attract this number of people.
And once the racing started, the cheers that greeted a tight finish or a particularly impressive display from an exciting two-year-old (Ahmad bin Harmash’s Walking Thunder is definitely one for the notebook), confirmed that, never mind the chance to have a flutter, this was all about racing lovers enjoying some first-rate action.
The place erupted when, in one valuable handicap, champion trainer Doug Watson’s Pillar of Society and bin Harmash’s Rodaini enjoyed a proper ding-dong in the home straight, with Watson’s horse eventually prevailing by a length and a quarter (Watson had four winners on the night).
Like everything in Dubai, the horse racing industry has developed at great speed, underpinned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid’s investment. His own racing operation, Godolphin, is enjoying a resurgence and the “Boys in Blue” will surely dominate come the Dubai World Cup Carnival, which runs from January through to March, culminating in the Dubai World Cup.
Until 2009, race meetings in Dubai were held at Nad Al Sheba racecourse, close by but a far cry from the curved, futuristic stadium built to accommodate thousands at Meydan. One woman, who has been going racing in Dubai since 1996, said: “To see what it was then, compared to now, is just amazing. It has totally evolved. The vision of Sheikh Mohammed is amazing; this is what he wanted in the Nineties.”
The investment is paying dividends and not just when the racing world descends on Meydan for the Dubai World Cup, worth $12 million (Dh44 million) to the winner. I spoke to a number of people who had travelled over from Britain for Thursday’s meeting and were already booked in for a return trip.
“Everybody is willing to help you here,” one British man told me. “When you go to Ascot or Epsom, you’re just a number, they take your money and that’s that.” His daughter, who lives in Dubai, added: “It’s a lovely night out and when you have family over from Britain, to see something like this is on a different scale.”
Once the seven races were over (performance of the night came from Jaber Ramadhan's three-year-old filly, Litigation, who dismantled a strong handicap field in the final race by nine lengths), people quickly made for the exits. There wasn't much appetite, it has to be said, for the after party. I'm sure the band won't have enjoyed playing Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance with Somebody to an empty dance floor.
But you know what? Perhaps this was just further evidence that people are coming to Meydan for the right reason: to watch the horses.
HOW TO WATCH
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Brief scoreline:
Burnley 3
Barnes 63', 70', Berg Gudmundsson 75'
Southampton 3
Man of the match
Ashley Barnes (Burnley)
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier
Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August
Group A
Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar
Group B
UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
UAE group fixtures
Sunday Feb 23, 9.30am, v Iran
Monday Feb 25, 1pm, v Kuwait
Tuesday Feb 26, 9.30am, v Saudi
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza, Rohan Mustafa, Alishan Sharafu, Ansh Tandon, Vriitya Aravind, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Basil Hameed, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Ayaz, Zahoor Khan, Chirag Suri, Sultan Ahmed
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Sreesanth's India bowling career
Tests 27, Wickets 87, Average 37.59, Best 5-40
ODIs 53, Wickets 75, Average 33.44, Best 6-55
T20Is 10, Wickets 7, Average 41.14, Best 2-12
HAJJAN
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Abu%20Bakr%20Shawky%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cbr%3EStarring%3A%20Omar%20Alatawi%2C%20Tulin%20Essam%2C%20Ibrahim%20Al-Hasawi%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
RESULT
Norway 1 Spain 1
Norway: King (90 4')
Spain: Niguez (47')
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Meghan%20podcast
%3Cp%3EMeghan%20Markle%2C%20the%20wife%20of%20Prince%20Harry%2C%20launched%20her%20long-awaited%20podcast%20Tuesday%2C%20with%20tennis%20megastar%20Serena%20Williams%20as%20the%20first%20guest.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20Duchess%20of%20Sussex%20said%20the%2012-part%20series%2C%20called%20%22Archetypes%2C%22%20--%20a%20play%20on%20the%20name%20of%20the%20couple's%20oldest%20child%2C%20Archie%20--%20would%20explore%20the%20female%20experience.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ELast%20year%20the%20couple%20told%20Oprah%20Winfrey%20that%20life%20inside%20%22The%20Firm%22%20had%20been%20miserable%2C%20and%20that%20they%20had%20experienced%20racism.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%22I%20don't%20ever%20remember%20personally%20feeling%20the%20negative%20connotation%20behind%20the%20word%20ambitious%2C%20until%20I%20started%20dating%20my%20now-husband%2C%22%20she%20told%20the%20tennis%20champion.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
