NEWBURY // Al Dahma, owned by Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thani, stamped her authority as the best Arabian mare in training yesterday with a thoroughly convincing performance in the Group 1 PA Shadwell Dubai International Stakes.
The queue stretched around the racecourse before the gates opened to Newbury's ever-popular International Arabian race day. It was for good reason, too, because in Al Dahma, No Risk Al Maury, and Fryvolous, the crowd witnessed the three best Arabian horses in the world.
Heavy rain on Friday, and further squalls yesterday had made the going tacky and stamina was essential after the Swedish challenger, Hespeshal, set a searing pace in the early stages of the 10-furlong contest.
Al Dahma's jockey, David Bouland, was unconcerned though, and the Frenchman allowed the fierce headwind blowing down the track to tire out the early leaders.
It was a tender ride. As Bouland's mount hit the front in the final furlong he allowed her just enough rein to hold off the persistent challenge of the Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum-owned No Risk Al Maury, who had won the last two runnings of this race. Fryvolous was dead-heated for third with Al Fatih.
Although it was Al Dahma's 17th victory in 24 career starts, it was surprising to find Bouland so nonchalant at the breathtaking ability of Qatar's 2008 champion Arabian.
"I don't think she was even 100 per cent this afternoon," Bouland revealed. "She only did what is asked of her, and I didn't ask her very much," he continued.
Trainer Alban De Mieulle was equally phlegmatic about his seven-year-old. "She won easily today," said the Frenchman, who trains out of Chantilly. "She is never going to win by 10 lengths, she always only does enough."
De Mieulle, who won this race in 2006 with Majid Al Arab, confirmed that his mare was undercooked, and nominated the Qatar Arabian World Cup at Longchamp in October as the winner's next target.
She is likely to improve, too. Al Dahma missed almost a year of racing, having suffered a multiple fracture to her front leg, but she won the Qatar International Trophy in February and followed up in the Coupe D'Europe at her home track last month.
"Today's performance will make her ready for Longchamp," De Mieulle continued.
It was a good day for French-trained mares as 40 minutes earlier Quesche Du Paon, trained in the south of France by Jean-Francois Bernard, won the Group 1 PA Emirates NBD Hatta International.
Once again, it paid to be held up off the pace, although jockey Gerald Avranche was further back than he had planned in the early stages after his five-year-old stumbled out of the stalls. Avranche held Quesche Du Paon on the stand side rail, but as the leaders began to tire, he unleashed a withering run down the centre of the track to win by a neck from the tiring Nokomys.
"It was lucky she fell out of the stalls," joked Bernard. "She needs to come really late in her races. If she hits the front, she stops. She's a wonderful filly though."
Quesche Du Paon completed a clean sweep for the Middle East in the Group 1 races as the Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahan-owned horse, Dariya, put in a coruscating run in the Al Hai Group Zabeel International Stakes, the first Group 1 race on the card.
The five-year-old stood out in the paddock. In spite of Dariya sporting a sheepskin noseband and cheekpieces though, jockey Phillipe Sogord had a simple task and the pair easily accounted for Al Raai in the closing stages.
The defeat of No Risk Al Maury must have been a bitter pill to swallow for Sheikh Hamdan, who sponsored the entire card.
There was redemption, however, when his silks were carried to victory in the last two races by Al Mannsoub in the Jebel Ali Racecourse Premier Handicap Stakes, and Riko in the Jumeirah Group Handicap Stakes.
griddle@thenational.ae
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
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
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If you go
The flights
Etihad flies direct from Abu Dhabi to San Francisco from Dh5,760 return including taxes.
The car
Etihad Guest members get a 10 per cent worldwide discount when booking with Hertz, as well as earning miles on their rentals. A week's car hire costs from Dh1,500 including taxes.
The hotels
Along the route, Motel 6 (www.motel6.com) offers good value and comfort, with rooms from $55 (Dh202) per night including taxes. In Portland, the Jupiter Hotel (https://jupiterhotel.com/) has rooms from $165 (Dh606) per night including taxes. The Society Hotel https://thesocietyhotel.com/ has rooms from $130 (Dh478) per night including taxes.
More info
To keep up with constant developments in Portland, visit www.travelportland.com. Good guidebooks include the Lonely Planet guides to Northern California and Washington, Oregon & the Pacific Northwest.
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A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
