The jockey, trainer and owner combination of Tadhg O’Shea, and Khalid Khalifa Al Naboodah picked up two of the six prizes that were up for grabs in Abu Dhabi’s fourth meeting of the season on Thursday.
The trio were in the winner’s enclosure with AF Musannef and AF Maqam after completing a double in the six-race card of which five were for the Purebred Arabians.
AF Musannef took the honours in Race 3, with the six year old son of AF Al Buraq running well in the final 300m before leading on the final strides to beat stable companion AF Yakhtem, under apprentice Marcelino Rodrigues, by a neck.
AF Maqam led on the home stretch and stayed on strongly to get the better of AF Mualami, with Antonio Fresu in the saddle, by three lengths.
Meydan stages their fifth meeting on Friday, the seven-race card highlighted by the Listed Al Garhoud Sprint.
RESULTS
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The 1,200-metre sprint has attracted a quality field of eight with Doug Watson double handed with Al Tariq and Canvassed.
Canvassed is the choice of stable jockey Pat Dobbs with Sam Hitchcott aboard Al Tariq, both the Watson runners making their seasonal debuts.
“Both are very well and we are pleased with them but they are returning from breaks so they should progress for the outing,” the seven-time UAE champion trainer said.
“They have been for racecourse gallops though so are pretty straight and, hopefully, both should run well.”
Also doubly represented with seasonal returnees is reigning champion trainer Bhupat Seemar who will saddle both Freedom Fighter, the choice of O’Shea, and Tuz with Richard Mullen aboard.
Certainly not lacking a recent run is Upper Class, an impressive winner of the Meydan season thus far when trouncing seven rivals in a handicap over this 1,200m.
That was five weeks ago for Antonio Cintra Pereira but he will be saddled on this occasion by that trainer’s former assistant, Julio Olascoaga. Jockey Jose da Silva will be on top again hoping for a repeat performance.
“We have just kept him ticking over since his win but he seems in very good form and his jockey is pleased with him,” Olascoaga said.
“This race will give us some idea as to the strength of the local opposition heading into the carnival.”
The%20Mandalorian%20season%203%20episode%201
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Book%20Details
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SPECS
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
Building boom turning to bust as Turkey's economy slows
Deep in a provincial region of northwestern Turkey, it looks like a mirage - hundreds of luxury houses built in neat rows, their pointed towers somewhere between French chateau and Disney castle.
Meant to provide luxurious accommodations for foreign buyers, the houses are however standing empty in what is anything but a fairytale for their investors.
The ambitious development has been hit by regional turmoil as well as the slump in the Turkish construction industry - a key sector - as the country's economy heads towards what could be a hard landing in an intensifying downturn.
After a long period of solid growth, Turkey's economy contracted 1.1 per cent in the third quarter, and many economists expect it will enter into recession this year.
The country has been hit by high inflation and a currency crisis in August. The lira lost 28 per cent of its value against the dollar in 2018 and markets are still unconvinced by the readiness of the government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tackle underlying economic issues.
The villas close to the town centre of Mudurnu in the Bolu region are intended to resemble European architecture and are part of the Sarot Group's Burj Al Babas project.
But the development of 732 villas and a shopping centre - which began in 2014 - is now in limbo as Sarot Group has sought bankruptcy protection.
It is one of hundreds of Turkish companies that have done so as they seek cover from creditors and to restructure their debts.
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
RESULTS
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