Doug Watson dominates Firebreak Stakes at Meydan

Doug Watson was left celebrating in the rain after saddling the first three home in the Group 3 Firebreak Stakes, the highlight of week four of the Dubai World Cup Carnival meeting at Meydan on Friday.

Sam Hitchcock on Prince Eiji turned the 1,600-metre race a competition among the stable companions after shadowing early leader Mickael Barzalona and Ever Given.

Hitchcock took over the running at the halfway mark and raced home to win from Pat Dobbs atop Everfast and Adrie de Vries onboard Thegreatcollection by a length and-a-quarter and half-a-length on sloppy underfoot conditions.

The seven-year-old Dubawi gelding in the silks of Sheikh Mohammed Obaid was winning for the second time in three starts in the season.

He was successful over the track and trip on his reappearance in the Listed Dubai Creek Mile in December and unplaced over the same course and distance in the Group 2 Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 in his next start in January.

“Obviously it is a great result for the whole team and Sheikh Mohammed Obaid,” seven-time UAE champion trainer Watson said.

“It was nice to see the winner bounce back, Everfast has run very well and Thegreatcollection was staying on. It was a fantastic result and Prince Eiji had a lovely tow into the race and has done that in style.”

Tadhg O’Shea and Bhupat Seemar combined to land a double on the night, claiming the 1,900m dirt handicap with Franz Strauss for Greg Bryce.

The jockey and trainer were back in the winner’s enclosure after the finale, a 1,400m dirt handicap, this time combing with Al Rashid Stables whose silks were carried to victory aboard Western Symphony.

Godolphin picked up two of the four prizes they had their runners in the eight-race card.

Saeed bin Suroor’s Mawj, under Patrick Cosgrave, just held on to clinch the Jumeirah Fillies Classic from fellow Godolphin trainer Charlie Appleby’s Dream Of Love with William Buick in the saddle.

It was a third career success for the filly, winner of the 1,200m Group 2 Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes at York in July last year.

“I started to ask her for an effort too early in all probability, especially on that ground, but she has a touch of class which has saved the day,” Cosgrave said.

Class prevailed in the Jumeirah Classic, a turf Listed race over 1,800m for three year olds, with Godolphin’s Naval Power leading the first three home for the royal blues.

The homebred Teofilo colt with a rating of 110 arrived after suffering his first defeat in five starts, in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes, in early October, and bounced back in style to win from stable companions One Nation and Highbank by a length and-a-quarter and three lengths and three quarter respectively.

Results

6pm: Festival City Stakes – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (Dirt) 1,900m; Winner: Lahresh, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Musabah Al Muhairi (trainer)

6.35pm: Dubai Sprint – Listed (TB) $100,000 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Coachello, Pat Dobbs, Gordon Elliott

7.10pm: Race 3 – Handicap (TB) $75,000 (D) 1,900m; Winner: Franz Strauss, Tadhg O’Shea, Bhupat Seemar

7.45pm: Jumeirah Fillies Classic – Conditions (TB) $100,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Mawj, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor

8.20pm: Zabeel Turf – Handicap (TB) $100,000 (T) 2,000m; Winner: Good Fortune, Theo Bachelot, Soren Jensen

8.55pm: Firebreak Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Prince Eiji, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson

9.30pm: Jumeirah Classic – Listed (TB) $150,000 (T) 1,800m; Winner: Naval Power, William Buick, Charlie Appleby

10.05pm: Race 8 – Handicap (TB) $75,000 (D) 1,400m; Winner: Western Symphony, Tadhg O’Shea, Bhupat Seemar

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Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.

- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law

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.

What the law says

Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.

“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.

“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”

If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.