NEWBURY, ENGLAND // They came from throughout Europe but in the race that mattered most there was no stopping Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid’s Muraaqib in the Group 1 Dubai International Stakes sponsored by the Minister Of Finance’s Shadwell Stud.
There were 25 international runners spread among the eight races on the Dubai International Arabian race day card, which was an increase from 12 last season and 13 in 2014.
And how the international raiders performed. Urge Di Gallura became the first Italian horse to win at this fixture in the Group 2 Emirates Equestrian Federation International Stakes for Endo Botti and jockey Antonio Fresu. Sylvine Al Maury crossed the Channel from France for Elizabeth Bernard to take the Group 1 Hatta International Stakes under Jean-Bernard Eyquem.
Sheikh Hamdan may well be a generous patron, but his Radames provided his rookie trainer Philip Collington with his first Group 1 winner since taking over from Gillian Duffield in October in the Za’abeel International Stakes before Muraaqib underlined why he was the highest-rated juvenile colt of last season in the showpiece race.
• Trainer Beverley Deutrom shows why horse racing could use a woman's touch
The Deputy Ruler of Dubai clearly understands that to win the best prizes could well dissuade further runners from travelling to run here, despite the travel allowance of £300 (Dh1,444) to come, and he highlighted that more must be done to attract the best not just on this British showcase of the sport but throughout the year.
“This day has grown for today but numbers for the other races in England are very poor,” Sheikh Hamdan said. “The Arabian Horse Committee must work harder to create greater interest.”
Queen Elizabeth is well known for her passion for thoroughbred racing, but two of her Purebred Arabian stallions paraded before racing on front of the 10,000 crowd and it is a wonder the sport has not traded more on her support.
“She is more interested in thoroughbred racing,” the Minister of Finance added. “And she is too old to ride them, too!”
Muraaqib finished two-and-a quarter lengths clear of Swedish raider Toutatix in the £55,000 feature. There was the same distance back to Lares De Pine, who was bidding to give Botti a double.
It was the manner, however, of Muraaqib’s win that mattered. He was held up by Bertras for the first 1,400 metres behind a pace set by Alcea Rosea, but coming in to the long straight it was clear who had the greater engine purring underneath them. Bertras could no longer hold on to his mount with 600 metres to go, and Muraaqib cruised to the front but with Toutatix urged on by Daniel Muscott, Bertras asked his partner to go on again. The four year old duly responded to grasp the third Group 1 race of his short career and a 13th victory in the International for his owner.
“He idled a bit but when they came to him he pulled away,” Shadwell Stud director Richard Lancaster said. “With a stronger pace he would have ben even better.”
Muraaqib was bred by Shadwell and is by Munjiz out of Tashreefat, a mare who raced nine times in Abu Dhabi and twice at Nad Al Sheba during the 2008/09 seasons. She was sired by the great Purebred Arabian Bengali D’Albret, who won 16 races and the European Triple Crown in the 1990s.
“Muraaqib is one of the most exciting horses that Shadwell have bred,” Lancaster said. “One day he may well rank up there with No Risk Al Maury,” comparing him to the UAE Champion Purebred Arabian in 2008.
“Obviously it is too early to make comparisons but he has the same characteristic as Bengali d’Albert in that when he picks up he can win in two strides. Arabians generally don’t have a turn of foot.”
Sheikh Hamdan cut a prominent figure on the day, overseeing myriad of extra-curricular activities that ranged from pony rides, falconry displays and henna tattoo artists to showcase the best of Dubai.
He was also on hand to congratulate Bernard in person after Silvine Al Maury powered six lengths clear of his Aghsaan on her first start since winning the fillies’ Group 1 at Longchamp in October.
“She was sick during January and April and is only at 80 per cent,” Bernard said. “I don’t know what she had. We had a virus in our stable but she never had a fever, she never coughed and every day I went to see her I saw bad skin – it was so sad for her. She has come back slowly and I was very patient.”
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Profile box
Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
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
Company%20profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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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
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands
The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands
50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE World Heavyweight ChampionshipAJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
Casket match The Undertaker v Chris Jericho
Singles match John Cena v Triple H
Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v tba
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'
Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.
Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.
"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.
"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.
"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."
Qosty Byogaani
Starring: Hani Razmzi, Maya Nasir and Hassan Hosny
Four stars
Heather, the Totality
Matthew Weiner,
Canongate
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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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
UAE%20SQUAD
%3Cp%3E%0DJemma%20Eley%2C%20Maria%20Michailidou%2C%20Molly%20Fuller%2C%20Chloe%20Andrews%20(of%20Dubai%20College)%2C%20Eliza%20Petricola%2C%20Holly%20Guerin%2C%20Yasmin%20Craig%2C%20Caitlin%20Gowdy%20(Dubai%20English%20Speaking%20College)%2C%20Claire%20Janssen%2C%20Cristiana%20Morall%20(Jumeirah%20English%20Speaking%20School)%2C%20Tessa%20Mies%20(Jebel%20Ali%20School)%2C%20Mila%20Morgan%20(Cranleigh%20Abu%20Dhabi).%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The six points:
1. Ministers should be in the field, instead of always at conferences
2. Foreign diplomacy must be left to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation
3. Emiratisation is a top priority that will have a renewed push behind it
4. The UAE's economy must continue to thrive and grow
5. Complaints from the public must be addressed, not avoided
6. Have hope for the future, what is yet to come is bigger and better than before
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier
Results
UAE beat Saudi Arabia by 12 runs
Kuwait beat Iran by eight wickets
Oman beat Maldives by 10 wickets
Bahrain beat Qatar by six wickets
Semi-finals
UAE v Qatar
Bahrain v Kuwait
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
RESULT
Bayern Munich 0 AC Milan 4
Milan: Kessie (14'), Cutrone (25', 43'), Calhanoglu (85')
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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