Meydan will stage its third meeting of the season – and the first of two meetings this weekend – with a seven-race card highlighted by an eight-runner 1,200-metre handicap, headed by the exciting Meshakel.
Racecard
The Salem bin Ghadayer-trained Meshakel looked a talented prospect by easily winning two of his five starts over 1,400m and 1,600m, and was runner-up in the Group 3 UAE 2000 Guineas, all at Meydan.
Returning for his first race in more than 610 days, Meshakel showed plenty of early pace to finish sixth over the 1,400m distance two weeks ago, and should have benefited plenty for the outing.
The drop in distance should also go in his favour and once he gets to the front under Royston Ffrench, the pair could be hard to track down.
Musabah Al Muhairi saddles seasonal debutant Mutaraffa, to be ridden by Dane O’Neill, the retained jockey for the gelding’s owner Shadwelland, and Vasari.
Mutaraffa was the winner of January’s 1,000m Listed Dubai Dash on the Meydan turf, while Vasari, the mount of Antonio Fresu, has the benefit of a run already this season, finishing fourth in a handicap over this course and distance three weeks ago. He and Fresu won over this track and trip in November last year.
Tadhg O’Shea looks a significant jockey booking by Rashed Bouresly for Tabarak although he will need to bounce back from a tame seasonal return, over 1,400m, at Jebel Ali last Saturday.
Bouresly may have stronger claims with El Baareq, who three weeks ago beat three rivals in a 1,200m Jebel Ali handicap on his second appearance of the campaign. Richard Mullen maintains the partnership.
Doug Watson and Pat Dobbs combine with dirt debutant Wild Majesty in just his second start for the American following his debut for the trainer in February, failing to beat a rival in the 1,000m Group 2 Blue Point Sprint.
He had run twice prior to that in turf sprints during the 2022 Dubai World Cup Carnival, representing France when in the care of Henri-Francois Devin, and making his local debut in the Listed Dubai Dash won by Mutaraffa.
The Ahmad bin Harmash pair, Will To Win and Roulston Scar, complete the line-up, Ray Dawson seemingly choosing the latter with Saif Al Balushi aboard the stablemate.
Sharjah will host its third meeting of the season on Saturday, a six-race card highlighted by the Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup, a Dh200,000 handicap for the thoroughbreds run over the 1,700m distance.
The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands
The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands
50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE World Heavyweight ChampionshipAJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
Casket match The Undertaker v Chris Jericho
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Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v tba
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Pieces of Her
Stars: Toni Collette, Bella Heathcote, David Wenham, Omari Hardwick
Director: Minkie Spiro
Rating:2/5
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Inside Palestine-Israel
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
The specs
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Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
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Price: From Dh117,059
New schools in Dubai
Opening day UAE Premiership fixtures, Friday, September 22:
- Dubai Sports City Eagles v Dubai Exiles
- Dubai Hurricanes v Abu Dhabi Saracens
- Jebel Ali Dragons v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
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War and the virus
Simon Rushton: War vet raises £12m for health workers
While you're here
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Michele Wucker: The difference between a black swan and a grey rhino
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On Women's Day
Dr Nawal Al-Hosany: Why more women should be on the frontlines of climate action
Samar Elmnhrawy: How companies in the Middle East can catch up on gender equality
The National Editorial: Is there much to celebrate on International Women's Day 2021?
Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'
Key developments
- Singapore summit: Trump and Kim launch charm offensive as meetings begin
- Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un shake hands ahead of one-on-one discussion
- US and North Korean teams sit down for bilateral summit
- Kim: “I believe this is a good prelude for peace."
- Trump: “We will solve it, we will be successful.”
All times UTC 4
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World Mental Health Day
COMPANY PROFILE
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Saturday
West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur (3.30pm)
Burnley v Huddersfield Town (7pm)
Everton v Bournemouth (7pm)
Manchester City v Crystal Palace (7pm)
Southampton v Manchester United (7pm)
Stoke City v Chelsea (7pm)
Swansea City v Watford (7pm)
Leicester City v Liverpool (8.30pm)
Sunday
Brighton and Hove Albion v Newcastle United (7pm)
Monday
Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion (11pm)
Key fixtures from January 5-7
Watford v Bristol City
Liverpool v Everton
Brighton v Crystal Palace
Bournemouth v AFC Fylde or Wigan
Coventry v Stoke City
Nottingham Forest v Arsenal
Manchester United v Derby
Forest Green or Exeter v West Brom
Tottenham v AFC Wimbledon
Fleetwood or Hereford v Leicester City
Manchester City v Burnley
Shrewsbury v West Ham United
Wolves v Swansea City
Newcastle United v Luton Town
Fulham v Southampton
Norwich City v Chelsea
France and Covid-19
Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
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Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
While you're here
MO
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
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Specs
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Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
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