ABU DHABI // Majed Al Jahouri is fast making a name for himself as a racehorse trainer. Having saddled his first Group 3 winner last weekend, the young Emirati has a chance to enhance his reputation with a strong presence in the UAE Arabian Derby tonight.
The former endurance rider is now the principal trainer for the Al Wathba Stables of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, and some highly rated juvenile Arabians. The first string of the stables' thoroughbreds are also under his charge.
Al Jahouri has the three highest-rated entries - Naseem, Rakha and Areem - in tonight's derby, a 2,200-metre race for four year olds with Prestige status, the centrepiece of the seven-race card at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club.
Naseem (rated 105) was an impressive, 10-length winner from stable companions Rakha (105) in the Arabian Triple Crown Round One in his first start in the UAE. Thakif, a Wathba horse who was third in that race, went on to win the Group 3 Al Ruwais sprint.
Areem is the highest rated, at 115, and is making his UAE debut. He comes with a fine record in France, winning on debut and placing second in a Group-1 race. He was unplaced in a similar contest in his next start before running second in a Listed race in which Naseem was third.
"Areem has the best credentials of the three entries but it's his first race," Al Jahouri said. "I would expect all three to run big races and the best one win. But they are certainly not the only three horses in the race. It is a competitive field."
Al Jahouri received his trainer's license in the 2008/09 season but had to wait until the following year for his first winner. He won five races in that season but drew a blank in his third year.
He already has saddled four winners this season including a Group 3 and a Listed prize, and backed by one of the most prominent personalities in the country, Al Jahouri is on a solid platform to emerge as one of the leading trainers in the coming years.
Wayne Smith, the UAE champion jockey, retains the ride on Naseem, which he described as the best Arabian he had ridden since winning the Dubai Kahayla Classic on Nez D'Or in 2002.
"That was a very good win [the Arabian Triple Crown] and he did it very nicely," Smith said. "He has an excellent turn of foot. However, this is a big step up in trip for him."
Harry Bentley, who rode Thakif to both his victories in Abu Dhabi for Al Jahouri, partners Areem.
"His form looks good and the trainer is having a good season so I am hoping for a big run," he said.
Daffagh Al Asayl, who was fourth in the Arabian Triple Crown Round 1, is most likely to challenge to Al Jahouri's trio.
apassela@thenational.ae
THE SPECS
Engine: 3-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 424hp
Torque: 580 Nm
Price: From Dh399,000
On sale: 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
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
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
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MATCH INFO
Manchester United 2
(Martial 30', McTominay 90 6')
Manchester City 0
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
Bharat
Director: Ali Abbas Zafar
Starring: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Sunil Grover
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
