Epsom, England // William Haggas won the Derby for Dubai businessman Khalifa Dasmal with Shaamit in 1996, and the Newmarket trainer bids to repeat the trick with his second Derby runner when Our Channel lines up here on Saturday.
Our Channel is owned by Abdulla Al Mansoori, who is the director of the corporate support department in Dubai and London for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Shaamit raced twice as a juvenile but did not have a prep race as a three year old prior to arriving at Epsom, where he easily held off Dushyantor, trained by Sir Henry Cecil and ridden by Pat Eddery.
It was a training masterstroke, and Haggas has not felt the need to enter another horse in the 2,400-metre event until now.
Our Channel is the only horse in the final field of 16 who has run competitively at this idiosyncratic course, although Kingston Hill and Western Hymn experienced Epsom’s contours thanks to a visit at last week’s Breakfast With The Stars event.
A sublime ride from Ryan Moore from the front in April ensured that the American-bred colt qualified for the Derby by winning the official Epsom trial, which has fallen in stature so much that trainer John Gosden last week openly questioned whether horses of Our Channel’s calibre should even be allowed to take part.
After the race, there was no hesitation as to where Our Channel would head next, and Bruce Raymond, Al Mansoori’s racing manager, does not believe his charge is there to make up the numbers.
“We know he handles the track – there’s no problem there – and we are hoping he gets the trip,” Raymond said.
“If we finish in the money, we will be absolutely delighted. I cannot see him beating Australia or Kingston Hill, but the fact he handles the track is a huge positive.
“I was second on outsider Blue Judge when I was a jockey and there were a few good ones behind me. It’s possible in the Derby, because horses who act on the track have a huge advantage. You might think a horse will act on it, but until you try, you never know.”
Due to the jockey merry-go-round that has taken place, Our Channel will be ridden by Silvestre De Sousa, who was displaced by Kieren Fallon on Godolphin's True Story.
De Sousa is too guarded regarding his position to discuss his feelings at losing his ride aboard True Story, just two months after he guided African Story to win the Dubai World Cup for trainer Saeed bin Suroor.
What grates him in private, however, is the insinuation that he cannot ride the contours of Epsom, where he boasts eight winners from 57 rides during the past five years.
Since it was announced that Simon Crisford had left Godolphin in February, there has been huge upheaval at the Dubai-based organisation, and jockey Mickael Barzalona was further marginalised on Thursday when James Doyle was given the ride on Pinzolo by Charlie Appleby.
Following yesterday’s declarations, Appleby’s other runner, Sudden Wonder, will be ridden by Kevin Manning. That means that Barzalona, who triumphed in the Derby with Pour Moi in 2011, will ride only Galizzi during the opening handicap at Epsom on Saturday.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
