Often the careers of flat racing’s heroes can be too fleeting, but in Cirrus Des Aigles, Red Cadeaux and Sole Power, the Hong Kong International races on Sunday morning at Sha Tin will be graced by three true international superstars.
Red Cadeaux lines up for his 48th start in the Vase. Sole Power has a second bite of the cherry after last season’s second in the Sprint on what will be his 44th race.
Cirrus Des Aigles is one of the most experienced campaigners in international racing, having lined up in 60 races, and will compete in the special administrative region for the fifth time when he tries to better his third place in the Cup 12 months ago.
The combined age of the European globetrotters is a staggering 23. Between them, they have travelled to Hong Kong 12 times.
“The longevity of these horses and their like is remarkable,” trainer Ed Dunlop said. “Red Cadeaux has now travelled some 250,000 kilometres and raced 77 miles, and still he keeps going.”
With age comes experience, but as we all know, so does idiosyncrasy. Routine keeps the elderly ticking along, but in athletes, especially equine ones, it can sometimes make them go stale.
“We have changed his routine a bit back at home and here,” said Jean-Jacques Poincelet, the assistant trainer to Cirrus Des Aigles. “It is probably the only time since we’ve been coming over here that he hasn’t gone on the turf in the week leading into the race. He also followed a lighter regime in France.”
Sift through the form of Cirrus Des Aigles and it is easy to spot that the eight-year-old gelding prefers soft ground – he beat Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe heroine Treve on rain-softened ground at the Prix Ganay in April.
Trainer Corine Barande-Barbe said that the reason for this apparent preference is, in fact, due to an old injury.
“I think he’s always relished softer ground because it’s felt safer to him,” she said.
“On a firmer surface, he wants to be in control and make sure he’s got his footing right, to better feel the leg that hurt him at some stage earlier in his career.
“It’s not that he has got a special ability on softer ground, only that he looks for the safest option.”
Red Cadeaux has not won since he edged Japanese runner Jaguar Mail in the Vase in 2012 but has run some memorable races in defeat, including finishing second in the Dubai World Cup. He was also twice runner-up in the Melbourne Cup.
Red Cadeaux contests the Vase for the fourth time, having also finished third and fourth in the 2,400-metre race.
Sole Power is seven years old and has competed at the Dubai World Cup Carnival the past four seasons.
However, age may be catching up with him as the Irish raider did not take the flight east very well and lost 10 kilograms.
Trainer Edward Lynam is hopeful his runner can collect a third win at the highest level this season.
“This horse never shirks a battle and his style of racing – sitting way off the pace – is untypical of a sprinter,” Lynam said. “He is electric and a real ‘box office’ horse.
“He’s got a decent chance, as there is no exceptional horse this year.”
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CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
Reaktion Books
Klopp at the Kop
Matches 68; Wins 35; Draws 19; Losses 14; Goals For 133; Goals Against 82
- Eighth place in Premier League in 2015/16
- Runners-up in Europa League in 2016
- Runners-up in League Cup in 2016
- Fourth place in Premier League in 2016/17
The End of Loneliness
Benedict Wells
Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
Sceptre
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Leap of Faith
Michael J Mazarr
Public Affairs
Dh67
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
TEST SQUADS
Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mominul Haque, Nasir Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Mehedi Hasan, Shafiul Islam, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed.
Australia: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson and Jackson Bird.
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.”
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Our legal consultants
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8
Power: 503hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 685Nm at 2,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Price: from Dh850,000
On sale: now
Fire and Fury
By Michael Wolff,
Henry Holt
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last 16, second leg
Liverpool (0) v Atletico Madrid (1)
Venue: Anfield
Kick-off: Thursday, March 12, midnight
Live: On beIN Sports HD
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More from our Neighbourhood series:
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
If you go
The flights
Emirates (www.emirates.com) and Etihad (www.etihad.com) both fly direct to Bengaluru, with return fares from Dh 1240. From Bengaluru airport, Coorg is a five-hour drive by car.
The hotels
The Tamara (www.thetamara.com) is located inside a working coffee plantation and offers individual villas with sprawling views of the hills (tariff from Dh1,300, including taxes and breakfast).
When to go
Coorg is an all-year destination, with the peak season for travel extending from the cooler months between October and March.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
