LONDON // Corine Barande-Barbe concedes that Cirrus Des Aigles was not fit enough for the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes on Saturday.
Christophe Soumillon, the jockey, suggested his mount lacked for condition after the race at Ascot, during which the world's highest-rated horse could
finish only fourth to the impressive Novellist
.
It was the second start of the season for Cirrus Des Aigles, having lost to the German raider in the Grand Prix de Saint Cloud in June, after which Barande-Barbe suggested her charge was at only 60 per cent.
The French trainer also lamented that the heavy rain that fell on London on Saturday night did not arrive sooner for her charge, who goes well on soft ground.
"Christophe said he needed a run he took a breath three times, which showed he needs a race and the rain came too late," she said. "I am not disappointed, competition always improves him. Even if we do work at home, it is not the same.
"I think if he had two or more races, he would have been nearer, but we don't regret it at all. He ran a good race and came back well. Everything is OK with him this morning."
Cirrus Des Aigles remains on course for a run in the Juddmonte International at York next month.
Andreas Wohler confirmed that he has the Grosser Preis von Baden in September in mind for Novellist, although jockey Johnny Murtagh cannot ride Europe's rising star in Germany.
Novellist handed Murtagh his 105th Group 1 victory at Ascot as he mixes being a big-race rider and a fledgling trainer, but under German rules, trainers are not allowed to ride.
William Buick, who has ridden Novellist twice, including in last year's Grosser Preis when finishing fourth to Danedream, is a possibility, as is Ryan Moore, who was first slated to ride Novellist on Saturday before climbing aboard Hillstar.
Cirrus Des Aigles was not the only horse to struggle on Ascot's quick going on Saturday. Very Nice Name trailed 21 lengths behind Novellist in his first start since finishing third to St Nicholas Abbey in the Dubai Sheema Classic in March. Olivier Peslier, the jockey, is convinced the Qatari challenger needed slower conditions.
"It was very fast for him and he had no action on it and he couldn't follow the pace," the Frenchman said.
The trainer Alban de Mieulle has not made any decisions about where Very Nice Name may race next but he did rule out his Purebred Arabian string from having any participation at the Dubai International Arabian race day at Newbury next month.
De Mieulle has around 10 thoroughbreds and the same number of Purebred Arabians housed at his Chantilly base.
Seven of those Purebred Arabians are three-year-olds and have been earmarked for a campaign in Qatar, while the three older horses will race in France.
"Qatar is the future for these horses," De Mieulle said. "Julian Smart will probably win everything at Newbury now."
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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.”
