History will have to be created if Godolphin wants to win the 20th running of the Dubai World Cup.
No horse has won the US$10 million (Dh36.7m) race twice and African Story has the daunting task of becoming the first to achieve it in a field that includes California Chrome, the American Horse of the Year, and Epiphaneia, the Japan Cup winner.
Saeed bin Suroor, the Godolphin trainer, has two entered, with African Story in the all-blue colours of the UAE Vice President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid’s Dubai Racing Operation, and Prince Bishop in the silks of the Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed.
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African Story is drawn in gate three and Prince Bishop in one, but Bin Suroor thinks the draw will matter little in a small field of nine runners.
“A good start and a good position early in the race is what would matter,” said the Emirati, who has won the Dubai World Cup a record six times.
“African Story won this race on Tapeta last year and the Maktoum Challenge Round 3 on dirt last time out.
“After he won last year, it was always the plan to bring him back for the Dubai World Cup.
“The surface he races on doesn’t make any real difference to him as good horses handle any surface but we want to try and keep both our horses out of the kickback as much as possible.
“African Story has a good turn of foot and can take any position in the race for James Doyle.
“Prince Bishop had a little problem in the past when he jumped from the stalls but I hope that he can start better this time. He is tough and has done well this year.
“He was close to African Story on his latest outing and worked well earlier this week. I am happy with him and we will talk to William Buick about keeping him in a handy position this time.”
Doyle, who was onboard African Story in both starts this season, preferred a wider draw as he felt most of the speed to be on the outside, which would be a worry for him.
“It was a bit of a shock to African Story the first time he ran on dirt, with the kickback and all that. Though you must remember it was his first start since winning the Dubai World Cup last year and he needs the race a lot,” Doyle said. “He adapted better the second time and it was good to see him get his act together on the dirt. I was pleased with the performance in the Maktoum Challenge and he battled well – it gives a lot more confidence going into the World Cup.”
Buick said: “We have all seen Prince Bishop this year – he has run very well in defeat both times and should have won both times, no question about it, as he gave himself a lot to do.”
Godolphin has only eight runners across five races, including the Dubai World Cup.
Ahzeemah and Marzocco race in the Dubai Gold Cup, Maftool and Sir Fever in the UAE Derby, Ahtoug in the Al Quoz Sprint and True Story in the Dubai Sheema Classic.
Their best hopes of racking up a winner on the night are likely to come from the juveniles Maftool and Sir Fever.
Maftool bounced back to get the better of Mubtaahij in the Group 3 UAE 2000 Guineas to avenge his defeat to Mike de Kock’s runner in the trials after missing the break.
“I am pleased with the horse as he has progressed since his last race. The longer distance of the UAE Derby will suit him,” Bin Suroor said.
Charlie Appleby trains Sir Fever, who was beaten for the first time in 10 starts behind Mubtaahij. “We have got the headgear on him just to help us a bit more. He is a big, lengthy galloper and the headgear will help his concentration and keep him focused on the race,” he said.
“William and I learnt a lot about him on his one start in Dubai, getting to know his strengths. He has been an easy horse to train, but without seeing him at the races first hand, we found out plenty about the horse on his first run and his potential style.
“So we took a lot of positives out of his first start for us. He is in really good nick and we hope he will be competitive in a good race on Saturday.”
Appleby’s Ahtoug, runner up 12 months ago, will have another crack at the 1,000 metres dash on the turf.
The seven-year-old bay has been in excellent form, winning his first start and going down by a short head to Sir Maximilian in his last two starts over the course and distance.
“I was pleased with his 13 draw as I am always happier to be near the stands’ side in sprints at Meydan,” Appleby said. “I have been pleased with his preparation. He is fresh and well and came out of his last run in very good order. He seems to be going into the race in good form.”
apassela@thenational.ae
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
It's Monty Python's Crashing Rocket Circus
To the theme tune of the famous zany British comedy TV show, SpaceX has shown exactly what can go wrong when you try to land a rocket.
The two minute video posted on YouTube is a compilation of crashes and explosion as the company, created by billionaire Elon Musk, refined the technique of reusable space flight.
SpaceX is able to land its rockets on land once they have completed the first stage of their mission, and is able to resuse them multiple times - a first for space flight.
But as the video, How Not to Land an Orbital Rocket Booster, demonstrates, it was a case if you fail, try and try again.
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The biog
Hobbies: Salsa dancing “It's in my blood” and listening to music in different languages
Favourite place to travel to: “Thailand, as it's gorgeous, food is delicious, their massages are to die for!”
Favourite food: “I'm a vegetarian, so I can't get enough of salad.”
Favourite film: “I love watching documentaries, and am fascinated by nature, animals, human anatomy. I love watching to learn!”
Best spot in the UAE: “I fell in love with Fujairah and anywhere outside the big cities, where I can get some peace and get a break from the busy lifestyle”
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
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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.
Full Party in the Park line-up
2pm – Andreah
3pm – Supernovas
4.30pm – The Boxtones
5.30pm – Lighthouse Family
7pm – Step On DJs
8pm – Richard Ashcroft
9.30pm – Chris Wright
10pm – Fatboy Slim
11pm – Hollaphonic
Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Geneva from Dh2,845 return, including taxes. The flight takes 6 hours.
The package
Clinique La Prairie offers a variety of programmes. A six-night Master Detox costs from 14,900 Swiss francs (Dh57,655), including all food, accommodation and a set schedule of medical consultations and spa treatments.
MATCH INFO
Asian Champions League, last 16, first leg:
Al Ain 2 Al Duhail 4
Second leg:
Tuesday, Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha. Kick off 7.30pm
FA Cup quarter-final draw
The matches will be played across the weekend of 21 and 22 March
Sheffield United v Arsenal
Newcastle v Manchester City
Norwich v Derby/Manchester United
Leicester City v Chelsea
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder MHEV
Power: 360bhp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh282,870
On sale: now
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
