James Doyle rode Cityscape to a surprising win in the Dubai Duty Free at Meydan Racecourse on Dubai World Cup night.
James Doyle rode Cityscape to a surprising win in the Dubai Duty Free at Meydan Racecourse on Dubai World Cup night.
James Doyle rode Cityscape to a surprising win in the Dubai Duty Free at Meydan Racecourse on Dubai World Cup night.
James Doyle rode Cityscape to a surprising win in the Dubai Duty Free at Meydan Racecourse on Dubai World Cup night.

Sport

Cityscape is go for Hong Kong and BMW Champions Mile

Roger Charlton has received the go ahead to send Cityscape to Hong Kong, where the Dubai Duty Free winner will likely face Ambitious Dragon, among others.

Geoffrey Riddle

April 21, 2012

  • English
  • Arabic

Roger Charlton has been given the green light to take Cityscape to Hong Kong for the BMW Champions Mile on May 6.

Cityscape won the Group 1 Dubai Duty Free at Meydan Racecourse last month under James Doyle. The six year old was set to take the place of Frankel, also owned by Prince Khalid Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, in the Lockinge Stakes in England next month after the world's highest-rated thoroughbred suffered an injury scare last week.

Now that Frankel is back on track for the mile race at Newbury Racecourse on May 19, Cityscape has been re-routed and will take on Hong Kong's finest next month.

"Cityscape has been given the go ahead to travel to Hong Kong next Friday to run in the BMW Champions Mile with James Doyle," said Charlton, the trainer. "He has come back really well from Dubai and is in great shape."

Cityscape will be joined in the race by African Story, who won the Godolphin Mile on World Cup night. African Story beat Viscount Nelson by four lengths under Frankie Dettori and will represent the Godolphin trainer Saeed bin Suroor in the US$1.5million (Dh5.5m) contest. The five year old is set to fly out today.

Mike de Kock's Musir, who was sixth behind Cityscape in Dubai is also likely to run, as is Australia's King's Rose. No foreign horse has won the Champions Mile since the race opened to international competition in 2005.

Ambitious Dragon, Hong Kong's horse of the year, will lead the home defence, although he will have to recover from finishing eighth behind Cityscape at Meydan. Lucky Nine, who was third in the Dubai Golden Shaheen, and Xtension, fifth in the Dubai Duty Free, are also in the line-up.

"This is the finest field ever assembled for the BMW Champions Mile and it is particularly pleasing to have four overseas challengers of such exceptional talent along with our superb group of Hong Kong milers," said William Nader, the Hong Kong Jockey Club's executive director of racing.

"Cityscape and African Story were the real eye-catchers at the Dubai World Cup meeting and Musir was a close third in this race last year, while King's Rose is one of Australia's top milers. It really is shaping to be a strong renewal."

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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

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Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption. 

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Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion. 

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Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations. 

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity. 

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

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