DUBAI // This Dubai Kahayla Classic, the Arabian showpiece and traditional opener of the Dubai World Cup card, appears to be as wide open as any before it.
The 2,000m event for purebred Arabians, run over same World Cup distance for the thoroughbreds, has drawn the maximum entry of 16, including Seraphin Du Paon and TM Fred Texas, the 2011 and 2012 winners, respectively. Tadhg O'Shea, the stable jockey for the Al Asayl Stables, has chosen to ride the newcomer TM Junior Johnson.
However, that does not harm the chances of Seraphin Du Paon, who will be ridden by Adrie de Vries, last year's winning rider on TM Fred Texas.
The Frenchman Olivier Peslier, who has won the Kahayla Classic twice, is booked on TM Fred Texas. The reigning champion will be joined by Rich Frynchman and Al Mamun Monlau in the silks of the Qatari owner Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad.
Majed Al Jahouri has five entered in the silks of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed – Areem, Naseem, Musharab, Rakha and Rasikh – as he bids to win his first prize on a DWC card.
With four of those having won five Group 1 prizes between them, Al Jahouri is struggling to pick his favourite.
"They are all in the race on merit and I hope one of them can win this prize for me," he said.
"Areem has won three of his four races this season of which two are Group 1 prizes but all his victories have been over 1,600m.
"He likes to dictate the pace and he will be hard to beat if he can stay the trip. Naseem and Musharab are in good shape for this race and I won't rule out the chances of Rakha and Rasikh. For me, it doesn't matter which horse wins for me from the five entered."
Nieshan, the runner-up in 2011 and fifth last year, spearheads Eric Lemartinel's trio.
The seven-year-old chestnut son of Akbar is going in to the race having won the dress rehearsal - the Maktoum Challenge Round 3 - for the second time in a row.
Versac PY, owned by Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid, finished a creditable fourth last year and Erwan Charpy, his trainer, thinks he has a "very big chance" after narrowly going down to Albar Lotois and his stable companion Nieshan in his last two starts.
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The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
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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.”
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Group C: Netherlands, Ukraine, Austria,
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Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager
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Name: Akeed
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