Jockey Royston Ffrench will be taking part in the action at Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club on Sunday, December 21, 2014. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National
Jockey Royston Ffrench will be taking part in the action at Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club on Sunday, December 21, 2014. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

Three year olds feature at Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club



ABU DHABI // The three-year-olds step into the limelight at Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club on Sunday night with the Group 3 Abu Dhabi Championship, the main feature on a card that includes the Abu Dhabi Colts’ Classic and the Fillies’ equivalent.

All three races are over 1,600 metres and eight have been declared for the feature with two previous winners joined by three debutants and a trio of maidens.

Jockey Royston Ffrench has three winners to his name already this weekend and partners Ahmadani for trainer Helal Al Alawi.

Ffrench was aboard when the horse made a winning debut over 1,200m on the Sharjah dirt in November, although Ahmadani subsequently tested positive for a prohibited substance and was disqualified.

He returned four weeks later, winning again over the same course and distance.

“We have to hope he has a live chance but obviously he has to prove himself on turf and over the trip,” Ffrench said.

Saifaldin Deeb saddles the other previous winner and Harry Bentley takes the ride on Boss Des Vialettes, winner of a 1,400m maiden here at Abu Dhabi on his second start.

The meeting opens with the Abu Dhabi Fillies’ Classic and, again, only two previous winners have been declared.

As a consequence of their victories, both MH Kanz and Munafisat Al Reef have to concede weight to their 12 rivals.

The maximum field of 14 is also set to face the starter in the colts’ equivalent with five previous winners, who are all penalised, among them.

Richard Mullen rides Sataar Al Reef, one of four in the race trained by Jaber Bittar, three of whom are winners.

As in the feature, Ffrench rides for Al Alawi, this time on AL Shabab, successful in the second of his three starts when he beat Sataar Al Reef, but he was along way behind that rival on his most recent outing.

There are four debutants in the field who would not need to be world beaters to make a winning start to their career.

As always, there is just one thoroughbred contest, a 1,400m handicap this week and 13 have been declared in a typically wide open contest.

Trainer Dhruba Selvaratnam will be hoping Canwinn, the mount of stable jockey Oisin Murphy, can live up to his name and he looks well treated having failed to score since March 2013.

Canwinn’s struggles to win make Idler, a winner at Jebel Ali last Friday, more appealing as a top pick in this race for resurgent trainer Ahmad bin Harmash, who made a slow start to the season but has hit form. Stable jockey Adrie De Vries rides.

“He needed his first run this season and won well last week,” De Vries said on Saturday. “The return to turf should not be a problem.”

Ghaamer, Colour Guard and Signs In The Sand are others to consider in an ultra-competitive event.

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Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).

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Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

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Karwaan

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Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

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5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

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The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

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Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg and Rachel McAdams

 

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A foster couple or family must:

  • be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
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U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES

UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
Saturday 15 January: v Canada
Thursday 20 January: v England
Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh

UAE squad
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly, Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya Shetty, Kai Smith

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 

Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
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  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
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Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants

hall of shame

SUNDERLAND 2002-03

No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.

SUNDERLAND 2005-06

Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.

HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19

Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.

ASTON VILLA 2015-16

Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.

FULHAM 2018-19

Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.

LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.

BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66

Abu Dhabi race card

5pm: Maiden (PA) | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) | ​​​​​​​Dh80,000 | 1,400m
6pm: Liwa Oasis (PA) Group 2 |​​​​​​​ Dh300,000 | 1,400m
6.30pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-2 (PA) Group 3 | Dh300,000 | 2,200m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap | Dh70,000 | 1,600m
7.30pm: Maiden (TB) |​​​​​​​ Dh80,000 | 2,200m

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Company/date started: 2015

Founder/CEO: Mohammed Toraif

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