NEWMARKET, ENGLAND // Khalifa Dasmal's Dream Ahead was kept in Tuesday's St James's Palace Stakes at the penultimate declaration stage yesterday, but the job of containing Frankel at Royal Ascot just got harder as Henry Cecil confirmed the well-being of the 2000 Guineas winner.
Dream Ahead was ranked alongside Frankel at the end of last season as the joint-champion European juvenile.
Dream Ahead, trained by David Simcock, has a preference for soft ground, however, and has not been seen this season since finishing fifth behind Frankel in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket in October.
Frankel's demolition of the 2000 Guineas field at Newmarket in April could not have been more impressive, but Cecil reported that his stable star would be a tougher proposition next week.
"He's stronger than at Newmarket and has done very well physically since the race," said the 68 year old, who is to be awarded a knighthood in the Queen's birthday honours list.
"He's growing up and beginning to relax a lot more, and we're very happy with him."
Frankel's style of racing is flexible, and the Galileo colt is unlikely to repeat the trailblazing style which saw him secure his six-length success in the first British Classic of the season.
"We are not planning to do what we did there," said Cecil, who kept a little up in reserve.
"I've got a plan and hopefully it will work out; the tactics will be different."
Ascot is due to receive heavy rain tomorrow, and Dream Ahead's participation in Tuesday's 1,600m contest hinges on a piece of work this morning.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Sheer grandeur
The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.
A clear distinction between the residences and the Raffles hotel with the amenities operated separately.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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The specs
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Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
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