Tin Soldier could earn his stripe

DUBAI // The finals of the Sprint, Mile and the Long distance races of the Winter Racing Challenge, the second last meeting of the series, are the highlights tonight's New Year card with Dh300,000 worth of prizes for each race. The South African trainer Mike de Kock's Brave Tin Soldier heads the first of the three finals after running a good second behind Jet Express on his reappearance at Jebel Ali a fortnight ago. The five-year-old son of Storm Cat has finished behind Jet Express in his last three starts but with a little improvement can reverse that placing over the mile trip.

Jet Express and Skyward will be the main threats with some interesting newcomers such as Glen Nevis, Charlie Cool, Military Power and Meydan City, capable of turning the race into an exciting form with their useful UK form. Dynamic Saint hasn't lived up to his trainer Doug Watson's expectations but a change in the riding arrangements can see him end a frustrating 10 winless rides since Feb 2007. The fortunes of the gelded son of Sweetsouthersaint will be guided by Richard Mullen, who took him to the winner's enclosure last for the second of his four career victories.

The lightly raced Singing Poet spearheads the challenge along with the Dubai Carnival campaigners Crime Scene, With Interest and Igor Protti. Watson can complete a double with his exciting American sprinter Force Freeze, who has never been out of the first three in five starts. The Emirati Ahmad Ajtebi with his new found status as a professional and new job as the first jockey to fellow trainers Mubarak bin Shafya and Abdulla bin Huzaim has strong claims in all the races.

Ajtebi's best chances, however, appear to be in the third race onboard Step In Line. apassela@thenational.ae Racecard 7.00pm MUSTAQBALI 1,400m (PA) Handicap (rated 49-74) Dh 42,000 1. 210- VUNDABA (6y b g) 58.5 M.Al Muhairi ? W.Buick 7 2. 0-00 ALASIL (6y ch g) 56 S.Seemar ? R.Mullen 16 3. 5-33 BILLAMUNAZZE (9y ch g) 56 M.Ramadan ? A.Ajtebi 5 4. 20-0 AF AMER TAHADDI (9y gr h) 54 A.Manuel ? A.Nicholls 13

5. 4-06 NASHVILLE (8y ch h) 54 S.Hawaa ? Lisa Jones 12 6. 13-4 AHMADANI MUSAFER (9y b h) 52.5 M.Al Muhairi ? W.Smith 10 7. -100 MURAWIH (6y b h) 52.5 E.Lemartinel ? T.O'Shea 14 8. -046 AHEL (8y b h) 52 S.Deeb ? F.Jara 9 9. 4-00 CS CHARMA (6y gr h) 52 A.Al Raihe ? R.Ffrench 11 10. 05-4 DJOUMIS DE LEYRE (14y ch h) 52 K.Aga ? M.Henry 3 11. -004 GRP MONDIAL GHANTOOT (7y gr h) 52 A.Manuel ? S.Gorey (1.5kg) 2

12. -413 HILAL AL EID (5y b h) 52 S.Deeb ? D.Badel 6 13. 520- JUDEER (6y ch g) 52 M.Gharib ? R.Burke 15 14. -036 OFFRANDE DUCROATE (7y b h) 52 M.Gharib ? K.Latham 1 15. -000 PRINCE DE FAUST (6y ch h) 52 M.Kettle ? Salima al Taleei (4.5) 8 16. -052 SCHEHERAZADE MONLAU (8y ch m) 52 K.Aga ? Sophie Doyle (3) 4 17. -040 NOUR DE MONLAU (7y ch h) 52 K.Aga ? RESERVE 18. -245 SHARUDY (7y b h) 52 F.Nizamuddin ? RESERVE

19. 3-03 BAREQ (5y b h) 52 M.Al Muhairi ? RESERVE 20. -202 RACHIDIA (5yb m) 52 S.Deeb ? RESERVE 7.30pm AL DANA 2,000m (TB) NOVICE Dh 50,000 1. -535 JAP KKHATTAF (6y ch h) 59 I.Ellahi ? D.O'Donohoe 8 2. -316 PENTLAND FIRTH (5y b h) 59 M.Al Muhairi ? W.Smith 7 3. 0-10 SAVE THE SECRET (6y b h) 59 A.Selvaratnam ? F.Jara 4 4. 300- MOONQUAKE (4y db/br c) 58 M.Bin Shafya ? A.Ajtebi 6

5. 0- DANCE STEPS (5y b g) 56 M.Ramadan ? A.Nicholls 5 6. -043 HEART OF CORNWALL (5y ch g) 56 S.Seemar ? R.Mullen 2 7. -0 HUNDREDPERCENTMINE (5y gr g) 56 S.Seemar ? T.Durcan 1 8. 4- AD DAJAA (4y db/br f) 53 S.Hawaa ? Lisa Jones 3 8.00pm TADAWUL 1,500m (TB) Handicap (60-80) Dh 60,000 1. -443 ESTIHDAAF (8y db/br g) 60.5 A.Al Raihe ? R.Hills 3 2. 40-6 RAFFAAS (5y b g) 60 D.Selvaratnam ? W.Buick 4

3. -002 GALFAR (8y ch h) 58 E.Charpy ? T.O'Shea 5 4. 5-42 STEP IN LINE (5y b g) 57 A.Bin Huzaim ? A.Ajtebi 2 5. 0-56 SEEKING AN ALIBI (7y ch g) 54.5 A.Bin Huzaim ? W.Supple 1 6. -251 RAGAD (6y b h) 52.5 D.Watson ? F.Jara 6 7. 4-55 MILLENNIUM FORCE (11y b g) 52.5 R.Bouresly ? R.Burke 7 8.30pm CBD WORLD MASTERCARD 1,600m (TB) Handicap (0-105) Dh 300,000 1. 150- YADDREE (4y ch c) 60.5 M.Bin Shafya ? Sophie Doyle (3) 3

2. 50-1 JET EXPRESS (6y b g) 60 A.Al Raihe ? R.Ffrench 9 3. 261- GLEN NEVIS (5y db/br h) 59.5 A.Al Raihe ? R.Mullen 12 4. 60-2 BRAVE TIN SOLDIER (5y b h) 58.5 M.De Kock ? K.Shea 6 5. 064- CHARLIE COOL (6y ch h) 58.5 D.Selvaratnam ? W.Buick 1 6. 350- GRAND HOMBRE (9y db/br g) 58.5 R.Bouresly ? R.Burke 4 7. 156- MEYDAN CITY (4y b c) 58.5 M.Bin Shafya ? J.Rosales 2 8. 11-2 SKYWARDS (7y b g) 58.5 E.Charpy ? T.O'Shea 10

9. 40-0 FILIOS (5y b h) 55.5 A.Bin Huzaim ? W.Supple 5 10. 450- QUEBEC CITIZEN (5y b g) 55 M.Al Muhairi ? W.Smith 11 11. 240- MILITARY POWER (4y b c) 54.5 M.Bin Shafya ? A.Ajtebi 7 12. 000- ETIHAAD (7y b h) 54 R.Bouresly ? D.Smith 8 13. -133 DARK POINT (6y b g) 54 D.Watson ? D.O'Donohoe 13 9.00pm ATTIJARI AL ISLAMI 2,000m (TB) Handicap (0-105) Dh 300,000 1. 604- CRIME SCENE (6y b g) 62 M.Bin Shafya ? A.Ajtebi 5

2. 00-0 EMIRATES SKYLINE (6y b g) 62 A.Bin Huzaim ? W.Supple 4 3. 01-4 SINGING POET (8y b g) 62 E.Charpy ? T.O'Shea 3 4. 253- IGOR PROTTI (7y b h) 61.5 A.Bin Huzaim ? R.Hills 1 5. 311- WITH INTEREST (6y b h) 61.5 M.Bin Shafya ? J.Rosales 15 6. 3-33 DYNAMIC SAINT (6y b g) 60.5 D.Watson ? R.Mullen 6 7. 410- FATHAYER (4y ch c) 60.5 A.Al Raihe ? R.Ffrench 7 8. 44-4 BENNIE BLUE (6y ch h) 60 M.De Kock ? K.Shea 10

9. 00-0 LIMEHOUSE (5y b g) 59 M.De Kock ? T.Durcan 8 10. 2-25 MISTER FASLIYEV (7y b g) 59 E.Charpy ? S.Gorey (1.5) 9 11. 4-30 TRUST N DUSTAN (4y ch g) 57 D.Watson ? F.Jara 12 12. -625 SAHARA SPHINX (6y ch h) 55 M.Al Muhairi ? W.Smith 14 13. -322 CLASP (7y ch g) 54 D.Watson ? K.Latham 2 14. -112 LUCKY RAY (5y b h) 52.5 D.Watson ? D.O'Donohoe 11 15. 1-31 DIG GOLD (5y ch g) 52 D.Selvaratnam ? W.Buick 13

9.30pm AL DANA INVESTMENT 1,200m (TB) Handicap (0-105) Dh 300,000 1. 033- TRINITY COLLEGE (5y ch h) 62 M.De Kock ? K.Latham 4 2. 010- DRIFT ICE (7y b g) 61 M.De Kock ? K.Shea 8 3. -331 EKHTIAAR (5y b g) 60 A.Al Raihe ? R.Hills 5 4. 0-50 SALAAM DUBAI (7y b g) 59.5 A.Selvaratnam ? R.Mullen 9 5. 213- FORCE FREEZE (4y db/br g) 59 D.Watson ? F.Jara 2 6. 4-02 LEAGUE CHAMPIONS (6y b g) 59 R.Bouresly ? R.Burke 12

7. 50-2 SEA HUNTER (7y b h) 58.5 A.Al Raihe ? R.Ffrench 10 8. 000- HAMMADI (4y b c) 58 D.Watson ? D.O'Donohoe 13 9. 301- KAL BARG (4y b c) 58 M.Bin Shafya ? A.Ajtebi 3 10. 221- FIRESTREAK (4y b g) 57.5 M.Bin Shafya ? J.Rosales 14 11. 40-0 MALAYEEN (6y br h) 57.5 A.Selvaratnam ? T.O'Shea 6 12. -211 JAASOOS (5y ch g) 55.5 D.Selvaratnam ? W.Buick 15 13. -062 VALIANCE (5y ch g) 55 M.De Kock ? T.Durcan 7

14. -122 MASQUERADER (7y ch g) 53 M.Al Muhairi ? W.Smith 11 15. -060 POWER POLITICS (6y b h) 53 M.Al Muhairi ? A.Nicholls 1 Selections 7.00pm Ahel - Murawih 7.30pm Moonquake - Save The Secret 8.00pm Step In Line - Ragad 8.30pm Brave Tin Soldier - Skywards 9.00pm Dynamic Saint - Singing Poet 9.30pm Force Freeze - Salaam Dubai

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

In the Restaurant: Society in Four Courses
Christoph Ribbat
Translated by Jamie Searle Romanelli
Pushkin Press

Student Of The Year 2

Director: Punit Malhotra

Stars: Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Ananya Pandey, Aditya Seal

1.5 stars

Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

Price: From Dh439,000

Available: Now

How Sputnik V works

The biog

Fatima Al Darmaki is an Emirati widow with three children

She has received 46 certificates of appreciation and excellence throughout her career

She won the 'ideal mother' category at the Minister of Interior Awards for Excellence

Her favourite food is Harees, a slow-cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled wheat berries mixed with chicken

Test

Director: S Sashikanth

Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan

Star rating: 2/5

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

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.”

RACE CARD

5pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (Turf) 2,200m
5.30pm: Khor Al Baghal – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Khor Faridah – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
7pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
7.30pm: Khor Laffam – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m

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

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)

Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai

Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia

Paris Can Wait
Dir: Eleanor Coppola
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard
Two stars