DUBAI // River Jetez, Mike de Kock's eight-year-old Dubai Duty Free runner, has been around the block a few times. She is an alumnus of the class of 2003 and used to gallop with her more illustrious stable companion Sun Classique.
But while Sun Classique went straight to the top of the class — winning a treble at Nad al Sheba in 2008 including the Dubai Sheema Classic — River Jetez was a late developer.
Sun Classique has finished her racing career and stands as a brood mare in Australia having sold at auction for A$2m (Dh7.5m). River Jetez, on the other hand, has finally figured out what it is all about.
"She was always in the shadow of Sun Classique," said Marsh Shirtliff, a part-owner of River Jetez, who also owned Pocket Power, a four-time Grade 1 winner, and Jay Peg, the 2008 Dubai Duty Free and Singapore Cup victor. "She is a full sister to Pocket Power, that's why we bought her."
River Jetez did not immediately reward her owner's faith.
"She just took a while to mature," said Shirtliff. "She was always a length behind Sun Classique when they used to work together. But Mike [de Kock] could see potential and we just bided our time."
River Jetez finally found winning ways two years after her stable companion. She won the Grade 1 J&B Met, one of South Africa's biggest races, beating Pocket Power into third, and followed up with two victories in the Pinnacle Stakes and the Grade 2 Gold Bracelet.
In Dubai this season, she continued her good form, finishing third in the Group 2 Cape Verdi to Godolphin's Aspect of Love and winning the Group 2 Balanchine.
Now she lines up for her biggest test against tried-and-tested international performers such as Debussy, the Arlington Million winner, and her stablemate Raihana, the 2010 UAE Derby runner-up. Godolphin saddles its Al Maktoum Challenge Round One winner, Mendip, while Singapore's best horse, Better Than Ever, a winner of 14 out of 15 starts, also takes a chance.
Bankable, runner-up in the race last season also opposes and, at the age of seven, is expected to retire soon after his Duty Free tilt.
But Shirtliff says that far from approaching the twilight of her career, his eight-year-old may have more to come.
sports@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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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
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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
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
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
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What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
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
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