Durcan coaxes Warriors Key to victory in a thriller


Amith Passela
  • English
  • Arabic

ABU DHABI // Ted Durcan had to summon all his experience and strength to steer Warriors Key to the most exciting win of last night's six-race Abu Dhabi meeting. The seven-time UAE champion jockey held off a strong challenge from the favourite, Emirates Gold, under Pat Smullen to claim the solitary prize for thoroughbreds, a handicap rated 75-100 run over the mile distance. Emirates Gold appeared to be cruising home from the outside but Durcan matched Smullen's challenge stride for stride to take the race in a photo finish.

"He stayed on very gamely. We got a run on the rails, and that gave us some advantage turning for home, rather than coming out wide around the horses," he said. Royston Ffrench, on Palm Court, who led coming out of the final bend, was three-quarters of a length behind in third place, ahead of the Richard Hills-ridden Tawaassol. Hills took the last two races on the card, both handicaps over 11 furlongs, for the owner Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum on the Gillian Duffield-trained Ejaabi and Sharakka. The Englishman rode two patient races. He timed his run on Ejaabi well to go past Jinad, who tried to make all the running under Ffrench, to win the second last race by four lengths. The stable companion Shibl came with a late run to take third.

Hills rode a similar race on Sharakka, timing his run to perfection, to take the last race from Muzoon de Faust and Alama. Daragh O'Donohoe rode Heart Beat to her first career victory in 12 starts to give the UAE's leading trainer for Arabians, Rod Simpson, the opening prize. The seven-year-old mare by Al Sakbe stayed on gamely to beat AF Mursid and Wanessah W'rsan. The French apprentice Wancelas Walter rode the Eric Lemartinel -trained AF Maqam Alez to an impressive win from Dynamik'Al Fauquey and Milan Ghantoot.

Smullen had some consolation for his narrow defeat on Emirates Gold when he was in the winner's enclosure on Mahalli, leading a one-two finish for the trainer Jameel Salman. Romeo, under Tadhg O'Shea, was second. apassela@thenational.ae

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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

On sale: Now

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The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

The rules on fostering in the UAE

A foster couple or family must:

  • be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
  • not be younger than 25 years old
  • not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
  • be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
  • have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
  • undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
  • A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELeap%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ziad%20Toqan%20and%20Jamil%20Khammu%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Undisclosed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
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Price: From Dh801,800
The specs

  Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now

Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

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The more serious side of specialty coffee

While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.

The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.

Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”

One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.

Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms. 

BMW M5 specs

Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor

Power: 727hp

Torque: 1,000Nm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh650,000

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed

Based: Muscat

Launch year: 2018

Number of employees: 40

Sector: Online food delivery

Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception