Tadhg O'Shea, left, attributes his success this season to the quality of horses he rode.
Tadhg O'Shea, left, attributes his success this season to the quality of horses he rode.

New champion O'Shea riding high



DUBAI // It has been a season of firsts for Tadhg O'Shea. He claimed his maiden UAE jockeys' championship and rode his first winter season for his new boss, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid. And on Saturday he will attempt to register a career second when he bids to win the US$250,000 (Dh918,175) Dubai Kahayla Classic - a World Cup-day race that he claimed in 2008 on the great Mizzna.

The 28-year-old Irishman had the domestic championship sewn up after Abu Dhabi's final meet last Sunday. "It has been my best season by a long way," said O'Shea, who has ridden 35 winners since Novem-ber 6. "It was important to do well and I said I would be happy as long as I was riding winners but it was better than I could have hoped." O'Shea ended up sealing the championship by a convincing five wins from second and third placed jockeys, Wayne Smith and Royston Ffrench. Smith sneaked ahead of Ffrench by virtue of more seconds as both claimed 30 winners.

"It looked like it was going to be a lot tighter," said O'Shea. "Royston and Wayne have had great seasons and four meetings ago we were all on about 30 winners. But I managed to pull ahead over the weekend." O'Shea attributes his success to the wealth of classy horses available to him now he is second jockey to the Dubai owner, Sheikh Hamdan, who boasts strings in Europe and the UAE. Richard Hills, the son of Barry Hills, the prominent UK trainer, is Sheikh Hamdan's first jockey, but even with Hills getting the pick of the rides, O'Shea was able to ride plenty of winners.

O'Shea said he is also grateful to his agent, Ed Marnane, who has been booking his rides all season. "I was lucky enough to get on some lovely horses. Sheikh Hamdan has a lot of talent in his string and it has been a privilege to be part of that team," said O'Shea, who was given the coveted job during the 2009 English summer season, replacing the departing Martin Dwyer. "Now I'm looking forward to what the summer in Europe has to offer."

If his last European season was anything to go by, O'Shea is in for a treat. He recorded major victories for Sheikh Hamdan, in the Group Three Jersey Stakes on Ouqba at June's Royal Ascot and the Group Two Lennox Stakes at Glorious Goodwood on Finjaan. But before he can focus on the UK, O'Shea has the small matter of four rides on the world's richest day of racing. Sheikh Hamdan's Kandar du Falgas bids for the showpiece Arabian race, the Kahayla Classic.

Green Coast, a winner over seven furlongs for O'Shea this season, runs in the $1m Godolphin Mile, Prince Shaun gets a shot in the $1m Al Quoz Sprint while Force Freeze will line up in the $2m Golden Shaheen. All four are prepared by Doug Watson, who will clinch the UAE trainers' championship from Ali Rashid al Raihe if he has a winner on Saturday. "I'd have to look on Kandar du Falgas as my best chance," said the rider of the 2009 Al Maktoum Challenge Round One winner. "Green Coast has been nothing but consistent and honest all season and I'm really looking forward to a shot at the Golden Shaheen on Force Freeze."

Win or lose there will be no time to reflect on his World Cup outings for a while as O'Shea will be winging his way to the UK on Sunday to honour early-season commitments at Lingfield. "It's going to be a busy summer but that's exactly how it should be," said the jockey. @Email:stregoning@thenational.ae

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

The specs
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Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
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Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
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THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine 

Power: 420kW

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Who is Ramon Tribulietx?

Born in Spain, Tribulietx took sole charge of Auckland in 2010 and has gone on to lead the club to 14 trophies, including seven successive Oceania Champions League crowns. Has been tipped for the vacant New Zealand national team job following Anthony Hudson's resignation last month. Had previously been considered for the role. 

Jewel of the Expo 2020

252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome

13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas

550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome

724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses

Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa

Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site

The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants

Al Wasl means connection in Arabic

World’s largest 360-degree projection surface

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Director: Magizh Thirumeni

Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra

Rating: 4/5

 

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.”

Company Profile

Company name: Big Farm Brothers

Started: September 2020

Founders: Vishal Mahajan and Navneet Kaur

Based: Dubai Investment Park 1

Industry: food and agriculture

Initial investment: $205,000

Current staff: eight to 10

Future plan: to expand to other GCC markets

The specs: 2019 GMC Yukon Denali

Price, base: Dh306,500
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Power: 420hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 621Nm @ 4,100rpm​​​​​​​
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The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

PROVISIONAL FIXTURE LIST

Premier League

Wednesday, June 17 (Kick-offs uae times) Aston Villa v Sheffield United 9pm; Manchester City v Arsenal 11pm 

Friday, June 19 Norwich v Southampton 9pm; Tottenham v Manchester United 11pm  

Saturday, June 20 Watford v Leicester 3.30pm; Brighton v Arsenal 6pm; West Ham v Wolves 8.30pm; Bournemouth v Crystal Palace 10.45pm 

Sunday, June 21 Newcastle v Sheffield United 2pm; Aston Villa v Chelsea 7.30pm; Everton v Liverpool 10pm 

Monday, June 22 Manchester City v Burnley 11pm (Sky)

Tuesday, June 23 Southampton v Arsenal 9pm; Tottenham v West Ham 11.15pm 

Wednesday, June 24 Manchester United v Sheffield United 9pm; Newcastle v Aston Villa 9pm; Norwich v Everton 9pm; Liverpool v Crystal Palace 11.15pm

Thursday, June 25 Burnley v Watford 9pm; Leicester v Brighton 9pm; Chelsea v Manchester City 11.15pm; Wolves v Bournemouth 11.15pm

Sunday June 28 Aston Villa vs Wolves 3pm; Watford vs Southampton 7.30pm 

Monday June 29 Crystal Palace vs Burnley 11pm

Tuesday June 30 Brighton vs Manchester United 9pm; Sheffield United vs Tottenham 11.15pm 

Wednesday July 1 Bournemouth vs Newcastle 9pm; Everton vs Leicester 9pm; West Ham vs Chelsea 11.15pm

Thursday July 2 Arsenal vs Norwich 9pm; Manchester City vs Liverpool 11.15pm