She is the filly whose performances this season have reduced grown men to tears, caused the UAE Minister of Finance to travel to England to witness her majesty and will have a global audience of one billion watching to see whether she can overcome 19 rivals to win Sunday’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
In sight of the Eiffel Tower, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid’s Taghrooda will sashay down the lush green catwalk of Longchamp in what, win or lose, will be her swansong as the paddocks beckon.
She has carried Sheikh Hamdan’s season and helped propel him to what is almost certainly a sixth owners’ title in Britain. Her victory in the English Oaks elevated Sheikh Hamdan back in to the VIP lounge reserved for European Classic-winning owners after a hiatus of four years.
Her crushing success in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot in July placed her in the record books as the first three-year-old filly since the mid-1970s to beat the boys there.
Yet, as Sheikh Hamdan’s team prepare for the final surge for the summit, her midsummer momentum may have picked up a russet tinge.
Down the long straight of the Knavesmire at York in August she was bested by Tapestry in a lung-busting drive to the line in the Yorkshire Oaks.
There was seven lengths back to the third, suggesting that both fillies ran their races.
The following day Taghrooda was found to have been in season but, whatever happened down that long straight, her regular rider Paul Hanagan had been simply outmanoeuvred by Ryan Moore.
Moore conserved energy on Tapestry to such an extent that she was officially the fastest filly in the race in the final 600 metres of the 2,400-metre event.
It sounds basic, but Hanagan had Taghrooda going faster than anything just after the middle part of the race, which meant she had little left at the finish.
Hanagan has the opportunity to make good, but it will be his first experience of what can often be a hurly-burly event.
At Friday’s post position draw at Longchamp Taghrooda was placed in gate 14. A wide draw in the Arc is not insurmountable, but her task to deliver Sheikh Hamdan a first Arc has been made far harder.
Taghrooda raced in the middle of the pack at Epsom when she won the Oaks, whereas at Ascot and York she was held up out the back. At Epsom there were 17 runners, whereas in her subsequent two races there were only eight and seven.
There is little pace in the Arc this year and Elie Lellouche, trainer of the unbeaten three-year-old colt Ectot, who runs for Qatar’s Al Shaqab, also saddles Montviron, a pacemaker.
Frankie Dettori successfully rode Ruler Of The World from the front on Arc Trials day last month in the Prix Foy and the Italian has pledged to be in the vanguard throughout the early stages. But that is it.
Hanagan, therefore, faces a tricky choice. If he holds up Taghrooda from her wide draw he will have to cede valuable ground. He must then come through the pack alongside Ectot, Harp Star, one of three Japanese raiders, and Avenir Certain, the unbeaten French filly, in Longchamp’s short straight of 400 metres.
Treve, the defending champion, also likes to be held up, as does Kingston Hill, the English St Leger winner who races from gate 20.
If Hanagan chooses to be more prominent he faces a battle to secure a good position, which will again use up valuable energy reserves early in the race.
Then there are the sands of time. Taghrooda has been on the go since she first routed a field of moderate fillies in the Pretty Polly Stakes in May. The Arc is clearly a young horse’s game and the younger the better it seems.
Of the past 20 winners 16 have been three year olds. Delve a little deeper and it is those hitting a crescendo, rather withering away in diminuendo, who take the bold step into the Parisian limelight.
Of those 16 successful three year olds only Helissio in 1996 was foaled in January. The rest were born much later with the last seven, going back to Hurricane Run in 2005, born on March 14 or later. Both Taghrooda and Tapestry were foaled in January 2011.
The other two fillies from the Classic generation in the Arc include Harp Star, whose birthday is April 24, and Avenir Certain, who entered the world six days later. Their improvement is likely to be the greater.
Taghrooda’s breeding suggests that she has the constitution to deliver. She is by Sea The Stars, whose blend of speed and stamina was such that he overcame significant traffic issues to claim his sixth win at the highest level in as many months in 2009.
Taghrooda’s reputation will lose little lustre if she is defeated in Paris. Her work on the racecourse is done and she is likely to prove a top broodmare.
With horses such as Estidhkaar, Muhaarar and Muraaqaba Sheikh Hamdan also has ammunition enough with which to go to war in Europe next season at the highest level.
That is for another time, though. Taghrooda’s is now.
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
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Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
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Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
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.”
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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- 600-seat auditorium
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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Rating: 5/5
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