Abu Dhabi // The thoroughbred Master of War and the Purebred Arabian Shateh won the official prep races for the National Day Cups on Sunday night, each run over 1,600 metres, as are the main events.
Shateh made all the running under UAE apprentice jockey Saeed Al Mazrouei and held on well from stable companion Marzooq.
Both are trained by Majed Al Jahouri, for Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, and were making only their second start in the UAE. The pair pulled well clear of their six opponents, including the favourite, Nymphea Du Paon, who ran fourth.
“The plan was to be positive and it worked out well. He ran really well for me last week over this course and distance, so I was pretty hopeful coming into the race,” Al Mazrouei said. “It is great to get this kind of opportunity on such nice horses.”
Master Of War was ridden by UK champion apprentice Oisin Murphy and trained by Dhruba Selvaratnam.
The pair hit the front about 100m out to defeat Naawaar, winner of last season’s National Day Cup and The President’s Cup.
Selvaratnam said: “We have to be very happy with that as we really thought he would need the run. Hopefully, he will be a Carnival turf horse, via the National Day Cup.”
Girl Powerr, trained by rookie Saeed Hadher Al Mazrouei, who enjoyed his first victory last week, doubled her handler’s account with a game success in a 1,600m handicap under Royston Ffrench.
The pair led most of the way and were headed just over 200m out but fought back to lead again at the finish.
“She was very game and has battled very hard to win this,” Ffrench said. “When we were headed, she fought back very bravely and did not want to beaten.”
Jockey Jose Santiago and MH Kanz were forced to work hard to allow the filly to make a winning debut in a 1,400m fillies’ maiden. Seemingly beaten when passed by Huyam 200m from home, Santiago’s mount fought back to lead again close home, providing trainer Elise Jeanne with a first winner this season and a second in the UAE.
Haanoof was the easy winner of the opening 1,600m maiden, given a confident ride by Pat Dobbs for trainer Yousef Al Bloushi. Winning for the first time at the eighth attempt, Dobbs’s mount had been highly tried in the past and relished the drop in class.
Al Shahab was an easy winner in the 1,400m maiden for trainer Helal Al Alawi, with champion jockey Tadhg O’Shea making virtually every yard of the running on the winner.
Third on his only previous start, Al Shahab was far too good for his six rivals here.
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Where can I submit a sample?
Volunteers can now submit DNA samples at a number of centres across Abu Dhabi. The programme is open to all ages.
Collection centres in Abu Dhabi include:
- Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC)
- Biogenix Labs in Masdar City
- Al Towayya in Al Ain
- NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City
- Bareen International Hospital
- NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
- NMC Royal Medical Centre - Abu Dhabi
- NMC Royal Women’s Hospital.
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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Launched: 2016
Employees: 76
Financing stage: Series A ($4 million)
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How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
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You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
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THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
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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