As the UAE celebrates its Golden Jubilee, horse racing has reached global fame owing to the country’s expertise in racing operations as owners and breeders.
Meydan Racecourse - Dubai's flagship venue - is world renowned as a venue that hosts the world’s richest race meeting – the Dubai World Cup – a nine-race card that draws equine luminaries from around the world. The prize fund for the 2022 Dubai World Cup meeting organiszed by Dubai Racing Club is a staggering $30.5 million.
Godolphin, the Dubai-based racing operation of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, is the world’s leading owner-breeder of thoroughbreds.
Established in 1992, Godolphin now spans four continents with operations in Dubai, Europe, Australia, Japan and the United States.
They celebrate winners almost every day. At the time of writing, they have saddled 7,164 winners, including 360 Group or Grade 1 prizes.
The name Godolphin is derived from Godolphin Barb and their breeding operation is named the Darley Stud, two of the founding Arabian sires of the modern thoroughbred Godolphin Barb (born in 1724) and Darley Arabian (1703). Bayerly Turk (1684) is the other.
During his studies in Cambridge, Sheikh Mohammed attended his first race meeting at Newmarket to watch Royal Palace win the 2000 Guineas in May 1967.
Fast forward 10 years and his own involvement with international racing began with the filly Hatta, who gave him his first success at Brighton, on June 20, 1977, and then went on to win the Group 3 Molecomb Stakes at Goodwood the following month.
Sheikh Mohammed’s passion for horses grew into a major bloodstock operation and has resulted in the world’s largest and successful racing team, Godolphin, as well as the successful stallion operation, Darley.
Today, Godolphin horses winter in Dubai and are prepared for the Dubai World Cup Carnival as well as the Dubai World Cup itself.
While Sheikh Mohammed’s racing operation is world renown, the Dubai Ruler himself rode and promoted the Arabian horse for endurance riding – long distance races ranging from 100-180km.
He has won several events, including gold at the World Endurance Championship.
The Purebred Arabians take a prominent place in the culture and heritage of the country and Arabian racing is promoted worldwide, an initiative of the UAE's founding father, Sheikh Zayed.
The President of the UAE Cup is currently in its 28th edition. It is a race series held across Europe, the US and the Middle East to encourage the breeding of the species.
“Most affluent homes in the UAE had horses and camels, and they raced them in makeshift or open desert areas during festivities and special functions like weddings,” Khalid Khalifa Al Naboodah, an owner/breeder of the Purebred Arabians and a four-time UAE champion owner, said.
“We had Arabian horses at home and that’s how I came to love them and later started a breeding operation for races,” Al Naboodah, who has more than 100 Arabians currently in training, added.
Emirati trainers Ali Rashid Al Raihe and Musabah Al Muhairi raced Arabians in the open desert during their childhood.
“Long before horse racing came under Racing Rules, we used to race in the open desert,” Al Raihe, 73, recalled.
“Such races and horse riding are still widely practiced. It’s a tradition in the country to conduct races in open areas and also ride long distances in the desert as a past time.
“When we were kids, we use to go out pulling a harrow attached to our vehicles to prepare a track for the horses to exercise them and prepare them for these traditional races.
“That was for pure fun at that time. We rode bareback and we didn’t go to riding schools. Horse racing is now well established both for the thoroughbreds and the Purebred Arabians.
“The UAE arguably holds the biggest number of races for the Arabians. Today the breed is better recognised in the flat racing world and as endurance horses.”
On Sunday, Abu Dhabi will host its biggest meeting of the season, a seven-race card highlighted by the Dh5 million Group 1 Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown for Purebred Arabians.
The Emirates Racing Authority was founded in 1992 and conducted races under the Racing Rules.
Prior to that, Dubai hosted its first race meeting in 1981 at a Camel Track, which was organised by Sheikh Mohammed. Three races took place – a sprint, a mile race and a contest over a mile-and-a-half.
Dubai Racing Club was established in 1992 to develop the sport in the city. Later that year, Nad Al Sheba Racecourse was opened, attracting some of the best jockeys in the world including Lester Piggott and Willie Carson.
The biggest breakthrough for racing in Dubai came in 1996 when the Dubai World Cup was launched.
The Meydan Racecourse was opened in March 2010 and replaced Nad Al Sheba as the home of the Dubai World Cup.
The venue can host up to 60,000 spectators and is home to a horse racing museum and a grandstand that stretches over a mile. The 2022 Dubai World Cup is slated for March 26.
The specs
Engine: 1.4-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 180hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 250Nm at 3,00rpm
Transmission: 5-speed sequential auto
Price: From Dh139,995
On sale: now
The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 380hp at 5,800rpm
Torque: 530Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Price: From Dh299,000 ($81,415)
On sale: Now
If you go
Flying
Despite the extreme distance, flying to Fairbanks is relatively simple, requiring just one transfer in Seattle, which can be reached directly from Dubai with Emirates for Dh6,800 return.
Touring
Gondwana Ecotours’ seven-day Polar Bear Adventure starts in Fairbanks in central Alaska before visiting Kaktovik and Utqiarvik on the North Slope. Polar bear viewing is highly likely in Kaktovik, with up to five two-hour boat tours included. Prices start from Dh11,500 per person, with all local flights, meals and accommodation included; gondwanaecotours.com
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Retirement funds heavily invested in equities at a risky time
Pension funds in growing economies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a sharply higher percentage of assets parked in stocks, just at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail markets.
Retirement money managers in 14 geographies now allocate 40 per cent of their assets to equities, an 8 percentage-point climb over the past five years, according to a Mercer survey released last week that canvassed government, corporate and mandatory pension funds with almost $5 trillion in assets under management. That compares with about 25 per cent for pension funds in Europe.
The escalating trade spat between the US and China has heightened fears that stocks are ripe for a downturn. With tensions mounting and outcomes driven more by politics than economics, the S&P 500 Index will be on course for a “full-scale bear market” without Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, Citigroup’s global macro strategy team said earlier this week.
The increased allocation to equities by growth-market pension funds has come at the expense of fixed-income investments, which declined 11 percentage points over the five years, according to the survey.
Hong Kong funds have the highest exposure to equities at 66 per cent, although that’s been relatively stable over the period. Japan’s equity allocation jumped 13 percentage points while South Korea’s increased 8 percentage points.
The money managers are also directing a higher portion of their funds to assets outside of their home countries. On average, foreign stocks now account for 49 per cent of respondents’ equity investments, 4 percentage points higher than five years ago, while foreign fixed-income exposure climbed 7 percentage points to 23 per cent. Funds in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are among those seeking greater diversification in stocks and fixed income.
• Bloomberg
Women’s World T20, Asia Qualifier
UAE results
Beat China by 16 runs
Lost to Thailand by 10 wickets
Beat Nepal by five runs
Beat Hong Kong by eight wickets
Beat Malaysia by 34 runs
Standings (P, W, l, NR, points)
1. Thailand 5 4 0 1 9
2. UAE 5 4 1 0 8
3. Nepal 5 2 1 2 6
4. Hong Kong 5 2 2 1 5
5. Malaysia 5 1 4 0 2
6. China 5 0 5 0 0
Final
Thailand v UAE, Monday, 7am
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Infobox
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August
Results
UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets
Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by eight wickets
Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets
Qatar beat Maldives by 106 runs
Monday fixtures
UAE v Kuwait, Iran v Saudi Arabia, Oman v Qatar, Maldives v Bahrain
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
Directed by: Shaka King
Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons
Four stars
Remaining Fixtures
Wednesday: West Indies v Scotland
Thursday: UAE v Zimbabwe
Friday: Afghanistan v Ireland
Sunday: Final
if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
More on Quran memorisation:
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
THE 12 BREAKAWAY CLUBS
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
