Haatheq is one of the favourites in Thursday's featured race at the Meydan Racecourse in Dubai. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National
Haatheq is one of the favourites in Thursday's featured race at the Meydan Racecourse in Dubai. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National
Haatheq is one of the favourites in Thursday's featured race at the Meydan Racecourse in Dubai. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National
Haatheq is one of the favourites in Thursday's featured race at the Meydan Racecourse in Dubai. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

Al Raihe runners Haatheq and Mustaheel to battle in Conditions race at Meydan


Amith Passela
  • English
  • Arabic

It is fair to say that Haatheq goes well in the UAE, as five wins, 10 second places and 25 third places would indicate.

And coming off a creditable second behind Soft Falling Rain in the Godolphin Mile in the Dubai World Cup meeting in his last start, Haatheq starts as favourite in Thursday night’s featured Conditions race at Meydan.

The six-year-old son of Seeking The Gold is the highest-rated (113) horse in the seven-runner field and one of the two entries of the Emirati trainer Ali Rashid Al Raihe, both in the silks of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid.

Haatheq is the choice of Dane O’Neill, the retained jockey of the owner, while Royston Ffrench, the stable jockey, is on-board Mustaheel, the second-highest rated (106) in the field.

On paper, it seems the two Al Raihe runners will battle it out for the Dh125,000 prize with the recent winner Ramonti Flash, and Busker, who was fourth behind him over the course and distance on November 7, to be the main threats.

“Haatheq is tough, consistent and versatile,” O’Neill said. “I am really looking forward to getting back on him and we have to be very hopeful.”

Wayne Smith, who rides Ramonti Flash, said of the three year old colt: “He surprised us last time and is certainly improving, but this is a big task. At least we know he is fit and well.”

Busker rounded off the season by winning back-to-back races, the first over the course and distance and should strip fitter with that first run under his belt.

In the fifth race, a 1,200m handicap, has drawn several Carnival hopefuls, including Innocuous, the mount of Smith.

The six-year-old son of Zafeen was runner-up to his stable companion Chasing Halos at Meydan’s first meeting, two weeks ago.

Ernst Oertel, the UAE champion trainer, introduces Brazen to the UAE. The three-year-old Kyllachy colt won three times in the UK, and the South African said is “one for the Carnival”.

James Doyle rides for the Al Asayl trainer because the champion Jockey, Tadhg O’Shea is retained to ride for Thistle Bloodstock, for whom Satish Seemar saddles Scotland Forever, another three-year-old making his local debut.

Jimmy Long, the owner of Scotland Forever, is hopeful that he has a fresh Carnival contender on his hands: “We really like this horse and we think there is a lot of improvement to come from him.”

apassela@thenational.ae

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

Price: From Dh439,000

Available: Now

The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
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  • Price: Not announced yet
The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

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Brief scores:

Everton 0

Leicester City 1

Vardy 58'

Sun jukebox

Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)

This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.

Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)

The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.

Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)

Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.

Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)

Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.

Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)

An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.

Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)

Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.

Scores in brief:

Day 1

New Zealand (1st innings) 153 all out (66.3 overs) - Williamson 63, Nicholls 28, Yasir 3-54, Haris 2-11, Abbas 2-13, Hasan 2-38

Pakistan (1st innings) 59-2 (23 overs)

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Know your cyber adversaries

Cryptojacking: Compromises a device or network to mine cryptocurrencies without an organisation's knowledge.

Distributed denial-of-service: Floods systems, servers or networks with information, effectively blocking them.

Man-in-the-middle attack: Intercepts two-way communication to obtain information, spy on participants or alter the outcome.

Malware: Installs itself in a network when a user clicks on a compromised link or email attachment.

Phishing: Aims to secure personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.

Ransomware: Encrypts user data, denying access and demands a payment to decrypt it.

Spyware: Collects information without the user's knowledge, which is then passed on to bad actors.

Trojans: Create a backdoor into systems, which becomes a point of entry for an attack.

Viruses: Infect applications in a system and replicate themselves as they go, just like their biological counterparts.

Worms: Send copies of themselves to other users or contacts. They don't attack the system, but they overload it.

Zero-day exploit: Exploits a vulnerability in software before a fix is found.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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
The specs

Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder

Transmission: 7-speed auto

0-100kmh 2.3 seconds

0-200kmh 5.5 seconds

0-300kmh 11.6 seconds

Power: 1500hp

Torque: 1600Nm

Price: Dh13,400,000

On sale: now

Company%20profile
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How to report a beggar

Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)

Dubai – Call 800243

Sharjah – Call 065632222

Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372

Ajman – Call 067401616

Umm Al Quwain – Call 999

Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411

Brief scores:

Kashima Antlers 0

River Plate 4

Zuculini 24', Martinez 73', 90 2', Borre 89' (pen)

MATCH INFO

Northern Warriors 92-1 (10 ovs)

Russell 37 no, Billings 35 no

Team Abu Dhabi 93-4 (8.3 ovs)

Wright 48, Moeen 30, Green 2-22

Team Abu Dhabi win by six wickets

WOMAN AND CHILD

Director: Saeed Roustaee

Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi

Rating: 4/5

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Tips from the expert

Dobromir Radichkov, chief data officer at dubizzle and Bayut, offers a few tips for UAE residents looking to earn some cash from pre-loved items.

  1. Sellers should focus on providing high-quality used goods at attractive prices to buyers.
  2. It’s important to use clear and appealing photos, with catchy titles and detailed descriptions to capture the attention of prospective buyers.
  3. Try to advertise a realistic price to attract buyers looking for good deals, especially in the current environment where consumers are significantly more price-sensitive.
  4. Be creative and look around your home for valuable items that you no longer need but might be useful to others.
Tips for taking the metro

- set out well ahead of time

- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines

- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on

- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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

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Three tips from La Perle's performers

1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.

2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.

3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.

MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5