Jockey Ryan Moore guides Russian Emperor - who rides in Saturday's Epsom Derby - to victory in the Hampton Court Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 17, 2020. AFP
Jockey Ryan Moore guides Russian Emperor - who rides in Saturday's Epsom Derby - to victory in the Hampton Court Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 17, 2020. AFP
Jockey Ryan Moore guides Russian Emperor - who rides in Saturday's Epsom Derby - to victory in the Hampton Court Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 17, 2020. AFP
Jockey Ryan Moore guides Russian Emperor - who rides in Saturday's Epsom Derby - to victory in the Hampton Court Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 17, 2020. AFP

Aidan O’Brien has six of the best in his bid for a record eighth Epsom Derby success


Amith Passela
  • English
  • Arabic

Aidan O’Brien has a six-strong team entered in the Epsom Derby as he bids for a record eighth success in the crown jewel of the five English Classics on Saturday.

The Ballydoyle trainer shares the record of seven winners alongside Robert Robson, John Porter and Fred Darling but another victory in the race can move O’Brien out on his own as the most successful trainer of the classic.

Ryan Moore has picked Mogul from the O’Brien pack while Seamie Heffernan and Padraig Beggy have travelled from Ireland to partner Russian Emperor and Vatican City, respectively.

Completing the trainer’s line-up in the 16-runner field are Amhran Na Bhfiann (William Buick), Mythical (James Doyle) and Serpentine (Emmet McNamara).

Mogul was fourth on his reappearance behind Pyledriver and Mohican Heights in the Group 2 King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot on his reappearance on June 16 and O’Brien expects the Galileo colt to improve from that run.

“We've been happy with Mogul since Ascot and we think he's gone the right way since his last run,” O’Brien said after Thursday’s declarations.

Challenging the O’Brien runners are Ed Walker’s English King and John Gosden’s 2000 Guineas victor Kameko.

English King, winner of the Listed Derby Trial, is the international favourite but he’s drawn in gate 1 from which no horse has won in this century.

The last Derby winner from the inside gate was Oath in 1999 and only three winners have come from that barrier since 1967 but with the experience of Frankie Dettori on the driver’s seat, the draw would be of little or no concern.

Kameko jumps out of gate 11 and has the services of the British champion jockey Oisim Murphy.

The Kitten’s Joy colt has won thrice and was runner up in the other two starts over seven furlongs and a mile, but the way he quickened up to win the 2000 Guineas makes him the one they will all have to fear.

Kameko’s form appears to be rock solid despite tackling the longer mile and-a-half distance for the first time.

Khalifa Sat, also trained by Balding for Emirati owner Ahmad Al Shaikh carries the UAE’s hopes in the race.

The Free Eagle colt appears to have progressed from his two runs last year, finishing sixth on his debut in a novice before successful in a Class 2 Maiden.

He made all to win from the re-opposing Emissary on his reappearance in the Listed Cocked Hat Stakes on June 16.

“I’m just thrilled to have a runner in the Derby,” Al Shaikh, who plans to travel on Friday to watch his horse in action at Epsom, said.

“In horse racing, you never know what can happen. I am hoping he will run a big race. If he can finish in the top five, it will be great. But I will not lose sleep if he doesn’t.”

William Muir’s Pyledriver can go close if he can replicate his Royal Ascot victory over Mohican Heights and Mogul both trailing more than four lengths behind in third and fourth.

O’Brien is also seeking and eighth Oaks success at the same meeting. He has a trio entered in the eight-runner field.

The Moore-ridden 1000 Guineas winner Love spearheads his challenge along with Ennistymon (Heffernan) and Passion (Beggy).

Gosden’s Frankly Darling with Dettori in the saddle is the likely one that can stop the O’Brien juggernaut.

23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees

Tony Adams, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Viera, Ian Wright.

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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
Tree of Hell

Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

Director: Raed Zeno

Rating: 4/5

NEW ARRIVALS

Benjamin Mendy (Monaco) - £51.75m (Dh247.94m)
Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur) - £45.9m
Bernardo Silva (Monaco) - £45m
Ederson Moraes (Benfica) - £36m
Danilo (Real Madrid) - £27m
Douglas Luiz (Vasco de Gama) - £10.8m 

'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra

Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa

Rating: 4/5

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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amit%20Joshi%20and%20Aradhana%20Sah%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECast%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shahid%20Kapoor%2C%20Kriti%20Sanon%2C%20Dharmendra%2C%20Dimple%20Kapadia%2C%20Rakesh%20Bedi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Squid Game season two

Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk 

Stars:  Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun

Rating: 4.5/5

Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler

Price, base / as tested Dh57,000

Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine

Transmission Six-speed gearbox

Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm

Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.0%20twin-turbo%20inline%20six-cylinder%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eeight-speed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E503hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E600Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh450%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
Inside%20Out%202
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EKelsey%20Mann%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%C2%A0Amy%20Poehler%2C%20Maya%20Hawke%2C%20Ayo%20Edebiri%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
If you go

Flying

Despite the extreme distance, flying to Fairbanks is relatively simple, requiring just one transfer in Seattle, which can be reached directly from Dubai with Emirates for Dh6,800 return.

 

Touring

Gondwana Ecotours’ seven-day Polar Bear Adventure starts in Fairbanks in central Alaska before visiting Kaktovik and Utqiarvik on the North Slope. Polar bear viewing is highly likely in Kaktovik, with up to five two-hour boat tours included. Prices start from Dh11,500 per person, with all local flights, meals and accommodation included; gondwanaecotours.com 

WHAT ARE NFTs?

     

 

    

 

   

 

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are tokens that represent ownership of unique items. They allow the tokenisation of things such as art, collectibles and even real estate.

 

An NFT can have only one official owner at one time. And since they're minted and secured on the Ethereum blockchain, no one can modify the record of ownership, not even copy-paste it into a new one.

 

This means NFTs are not interchangeable and cannot be exchanged with other items. In contrast, fungible items, such as fiat currencies, can be exchanged because their value defines them rather than their unique properties.

 
City's slump

L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1

INFO

Schools can register for the Abu Dhabi Schools Championships at www.champions.adsc.ae

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas

Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa

Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong

Rating: 3/5

THE SPECS

Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 258hp at 5,000-6,500rpm

Torque: 400Nm from 1,550-4,400rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 6.4L/100km

Price, base: from D215,000 (Dh230,000 as tested)

On sale: now

The specs

Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors

Power: 480kW

Torque: 850Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)

On sale: Now

LAST-16 FIXTURES

Sunday, January 20
3pm: Jordan v Vietnam at Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
6pm: Thailand v China at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: Iran v Oman at Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Monday, January 21
3pm: Japan v Saudi Arabia at Sharjah Stadium
6pm: Australia v Uzbekistan at Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: UAE v Kyrgyzstan at Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Tuesday, January 22
5pm: South Korea v Bahrain at Rashid Stadium, Dubai
8pm: Qatar v Iraq at Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

KEY%20DATES%20IN%20AMAZON'S%20HISTORY
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Kill%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nikhil%20Nagesh%20Bhat%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Lakshya%2C%20Tanya%20Maniktala%2C%20Ashish%20Vidyarthi%2C%20Harsh%20Chhaya%2C%20Raghav%20Juyal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204.5%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Padmaavat

Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh

3.5/5