Godolphin launch a twin-pronged attack on the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket on Friday night.
The Dubai-based operation are represented in the 1,600-metre event by Lucida, trained by Jim Bolger in Ireland, and Fintry, who has crossed the Channel for Andre Fabre.
Lucida is considered the better proposition after her second to Legatissimo in the English 1,000 Guineas in May and a third-place finish in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot in June, though, in the later, under Kevin Manning, Lucida looked far from straightforward.
Manning held up the daughter of Shamardal, the dual French Classic winner, and when he unleashed his mount she lugged to the right to try to find cover.
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In such circumstances to finish just under a length to Ervedya, the French 1,000 Guineas winner, was no disgrace but Lucida has it all to prove now.
Fintry, on the other hand, looks to have been underestimated after she beat fellow French raider Avenir Certain by half a length in a Group 3 race at Chantilly last month.
Fintry will be partnered by Mikael Barzalona, while Avenir Certain will have the assistance of Christophe Soumillon.
The French have won the Falmouth Stakes four times in the past two decades and have a third string in the shape of Bawina, who will be saddled by Carlos Laffon-Parias and ridden by Maxime Guyon.
The nine-runner field includes last year’s winner Integral, who was disappointing behind Amazing Maria, who also runs, in the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot, as well as Team Valor’s Euro Charline.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid will rely on Muhaarar and Muthmir in tomorrow’s Group 1 July Cup at Newmarket after both were declared runners yesterday.
Muhaarar will be ridden by Paul Hanagan, while Dane O’Neill will get the leg up by trainer William Haggas on Muthmir.
Godolphin’s Brazen Beau is also in the line-up of 15 runners, as is Sole Power.
Both will be on a recovery mission for the Minister Of Finance after Mahsoob’s defeat in the Princess Of Wales’s Stakes at Newmarket yesterday.
Big Orange produced a shock when the outsider rallied in the final furlong to win the race.
Jamie Spencer set the pace on the Michael Bell-trained four-year-old but looked as though he was going to be swamped at the business end.
Once his stamina kicked in, though, Big Orange found more under pressure to claim Group 2 honours by half-a-length. Second Step was second, with Gospel Choir just a head farther back.
Mashood, ridden by Paul Hanagan, finished a disappointing sixth in the field of eight.
“He did well,” Spencer said. “We went a nice even gallop, I stepped it up from the five and kept stretching and stretching.
“When Ryan (Moore, on Gospel Choir) came to me he didn’t get away from me. He only went a head or a neck up.
“We were in good shape then because I hadn’t gone for everything.
“In fairness, he knuckled down well in the final furlong. Michael was very happy with the horse. We were tilting at windmills a little bit looking at the form, but when a horse is telling the trainer he’s happy, then you’ve got to take a chance and have a go and it worked out well.”
Bell said: “This was a nice surprise. He’d get a penalty in the Goodwood Cup, so where he will go next I don’t know.
“I’d love to go to Melbourne with him one day, but that’s another conversation.”
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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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- Premier League-standard football pitch
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- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
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