With the Dubai World Cup Carnival getting under way in a week's time, the Jebel Ali Mile Prep on Friday has attracted just six entries. Yet, we could be in for a treat.
Just A Penny heads the weights as he returns to the Jebel Ali Racecourse, where he has recorded all seven of his victories across distances ranging from 1,200-1,950 metres.
“He has been training very well and is in great form at home. So we are expecting him to run a big race," his handler Doug Watson said.
The six-year-old son of Kodiac has to carry 60 kilograms, but the UAE champion trainer said: “He is a big horse, so carrying the weight should not be an issue.
"He is also going to improve - condition-wise - for the run in what is the first realistic option we have had for him at Jebel Ali this season."
Watson has set his sights on next year's Jebel Ali Mile and Jebel Ali Stakes for Just A Penny to compete in. "This has been his planned comeback with those races in mind," he added.
But the Jebel Ali Mile Prep is a wide-open race, with any of the six horses having a chance to claim the Rated Conditions prize. Just A Penny's challengers include Musabah Al Muhairi’s pair of Zainhom and Takatul, Ahmad bin Harmash’s duo of Rocket Power and Ennobled Friend, and the Nicholas Bachalard-trained Albernathy.
Rocket Power, in particular, is to be wary of.
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The five-year-old Kyllachy gelding has won over 1,200m at Jebel Ali. He will be ridden by Connor Beasley, Bin Harmarsh’s retained jockey, who said his mount relished the racetrack having won both his previous starts here.
“This is a much better contest," Beasley conceded, "but he is in good form and should be thereabouts."
Al Muhairi’s runners carry the silks of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid, with Zainhom being ridden by Dane O’Neill and Takatul coming under Ben Curtis.
Meanwhile, Albernathy returns to his home track having finished in third place twice at Meydan this season.
“We are trying blinkers on him,” Bachalard said. “He has run well in both starts at Meydan this season, but we thought we would try something a bit different - thus the headgear."
Jebeli Ali's seven-race card meeting, which starts at 1.45pm, is not the year-ending meeting. Sharjah is set to host six races on Saturday.
The highlights of the meeting, which gets under way at 2.15pm, include the Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup - a Rated Handicap for thoroughbreds - and the Crown Prince of Sharjah Cup for Purebred Arabians with Prestige status.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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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
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
'Spies in Disguise'
Director: Nick Bruno and Troy Quane
Stars: Will Smith, Tom Holland, Karen Gillan and Roshida Jones
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
The%20Genius%20of%20Their%20Age
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20S%20Frederick%20Starr%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Oxford%20University%20Press%3Cbr%3EPages%3A%20290%3Cbr%3EAvailable%3A%20January%2024%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
If you go
Flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.
The stay
Rooms at Alila Villas Koh Russey (www.alilahotels.com/ kohrussey) cost from $385 per night including taxes.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
