DUBAI // Meydan Racecourse hosts Super Thursday tonight, the second-biggest night on the UAE racing calendar. The eight-race card, which features one Group 1, three Group 2 and two Group 3 contests is the dress rehearsal for the US$26.25m (Dh96.4m) Dubai World Cup day races.
The main event is the third of this season's Al Maktoum Challenge series of outings, run over the World Cup distance and considered the final big prep race for the March 26 showpiece
Yet the field in that Group 2 contest, which features four from Godolphin as well as Musir, Mike de Kock's exciting 2010 UAE Derby winner, does not tell the full story of the World Cup candidates.
The US contenders are yet to run in the UAE, while Bold Silvano, de Kock's World Cup favourite, misses out with a foot injury.
Meanwhile, Mendip, a 2010 UAE Derby third for Godolphin, has avoided another clash with Musir, with connections instead opting to contest the Group 3 Burj Nahaar over a mile.
The lightly raced winner of the first round of the Al Maktoum Challenge runs this season in the green of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed and is the choice of Frankie Dettori, the Godolphin jockey.
"He's doing all right," Dettori said of the four-year-old colt, who displayed blistering pace when winning the 1,600m first round by two-and-a-quarter lengths in January. "He's a young horse and you would expect him to improve."
Although Mendip has won four of his five starts, question marks have been raised over his temperament in the past and that factor, as well as his youth, may have persuaded Saeed bin Suroor, his trainer, to continue his policy of spacing out the colt's races.
"The team decided that because he's such a young horse, we would give him more time before racing him again instead of racing him in the Al Maktoum Challenge round two," Dettori said.
"He's only run five times and he's maturing all the time and is an improving type and I would really expect him to improve again."
The decision to run Mendip over the mile instead of the World Cup distance may indicate a willingness to consider a shot at the World Cup day Godolphin Mile and Dettori warned that Mendip would need to prove himself before he could be considered World Cup calibre.
"He still has to go that step higher," said Dettori, who rode World Cup winners for Godolphin in 2000, 2003 and 2006. "Right now I would say he's not got quite enough about him to win a World Cup but then you think, he's only run five times and then maybe he can improve further. But only after his next race will we know because potentially he could be good but he needs to step up a bit more."
Stable companion Sangaree, who finished behind Doug Watson's long-shot winner Famous Warrior last time, also lines up, as does the Watson horse. Our Giant, a conditions winner over 1,200m this season, represents de Kock.
Presvis, an almost five-length winner at the end of January, is back in action in the closing Group 2 Jebel Hatta.
The evening's proceedings start with a renewal of the Group 1 Al Maktoum Challenge for purebred Arabians. Paris Gagner, (Watson) No Risk al Maury and Periander (both Gillian Duffield) are all considered serious contenders. Another runner, Erwan Charpy's Santhal, the elder statesman of UAE Arabian racing, has already captured the second round of the Al Maktoum Challenge this season, while No Risk al Maury was the winner of the first round on the Carnival's opening day.
sports@thenaitonal.ae
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
MATCH INFO
West Ham United 2 (Antonio 73', Ogbonna 90 5')
Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Son 36', Moura 42', Kane 49')
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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.”
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
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
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
