Ahead of the Dubai World Cup at Meydan Racecourse on March 26, we break down everything you need to know about the world’s most valuable night of horse racing.
Click arrows on the pictures to scroll through for information.
• Full schedule, ticket information here
What is the Dubai World Cup?
• The Dubai World Cup was conceived by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and ruler of Dubai and was first run in 1996.
• The inaugural race was won by the American superstar Cigar at Nad Al Sheba racecourse and in 2010 transferred to the glistening structure that is now Meydan racecourse.
• The Dubai World Cup is the most valuable horse race in the world, worth US$10 million (Dh36.7m) thanks to the sponsorship of Emirates Airline.
• It is a Group 1 race run over 2,000 metres.
• Overall on Dubai World Cup night there are nine races – six Group 1 races and three Group Two races with prize-money on the day totalling $US30 million.
• Last year’s race, the first back on a dirt surface since 2009 after which the race was run on Tapeta, was won by Saed bin Suroor’s Prince Bishop.
*All scheduling and course information is currently via race organisers and will be updated if changed
• Full schedule, ticket information here
When and where is it?
• The Dubai World Cup is Saturday, March 26.
• The Dubai World Cup has been held at Meydan Racecourse since the UAE’s flagship racecourse was first built at a reported cost of $US1.25bn for the 2010 World Cup.
• The racecourse can most easily be reached from D69 via Sheikh Zayed Road. D69 can also be accessed from the Dubai-Al Ain Road.
• It is possible to get a slice of the action sooner by attending morning track work at the Breakfast With The Stars event on Thursday, March 24. This includes a lavish al fresco breakfast trackside, while multi-million dollar horseflesh strides down Meydan racecourse to the dulcet tones of commentator Terry Spargo.
• There are interviews with jockeys, trainers and owners and other entertainments. Gates open at 6am. Adult tickets cost AED175, and children aged five to 12 are AED75. Breakfast included.
• Tickets: Breakfast With The Stars link to book tickets: store.meydan.ae
• Full schedule, ticket information here
What is special this year?
• Buoyed by their success back on the dirt surface last year the Americans are back in a big way.
• America sent over 16 horses last season and Secret Circle won the Dubai Golden Shaheen for a rare victory by an American horse at Meydan.
• Leading American horses such as California Chrome, Frosted and Keen Ice have taken a different approach this time and have arrived in Dubai much earlier than usual. All three have taken a prep race at Meydan and look primed for a big run.
• Full schedule, ticket information here
Will we see the big stars?
It wouldn’t be the World Cup if we didn’t.
• American superstar California Chrome is attempting to go one better than last season in the World Cup itself, having endured a completely different, and more positive, preparation for the big race.
• With the retirement of the US Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, California Chrome is currently ranked the No.1 horse in the world, alongside Japanese raider Duramente and Sheikh Mohammed Obaid’s Postponed, who clash in the Dubai Sheema Classic.
• World Cup aspirant Frosted, owned by Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin operation, comes next in the rankings, while Hong Kong challenger Not Listenin’tome, who is expected to line up in the Al Quoz Sprint, is sixth in the world standings.
• In his way in the turf sprint will be Sole Power, last year’s Al Quoz sprint winner who is one of three horses who won on last season’s card set to return.
• Solow, the French winner of the Dubai Turf, has booked his ticket to defend his crown, while Mubtaahij, who was so impressive in the UAE Derby, steps up to take on the Americans in the World Cup itself.
• Full schedule, ticket information here
Horses to watch out for
• Solow and Frosted will always be popular as greys, but Special Fighter caused a huge upset on Super Saturday this month and as a local runner trained by Musabah Al Muhairi he is sure to attract significant attention.
• In terms of special aptitudes American sprinter XY Jet is sure to create a certain frisson in the Dubai Golden Shaheen as he likes to pin his ears back and set a searing pace from the front. He likely to go eyeball to eyeball with Al Muhairi’s Muarrab as soon as the gates open.
• In contrast, Tryster has set alight the Dubai World Cup Carnival with his lighting turn of foot that has twice resulted in him coming from last to first in thrilling fashion. The Godolphin horse takes on resolute galloper Solow in the Dubai Turf.
• Australian racegoers have had little to crow about at Meydan down the years but turf sprinter Buffering has arrived in Dubai and connections hope to follow up Ortensia’s 2012 success in the Al Quoz Sprint.
• In addition to horses from America, Japan, Australia and Hong Kong, there also will be representatives from England, France, Ireland and South Africa on show.
• Full schedule, ticket information here
What are the main talking points?
Since the Dubai World Cup moved to Meydan the race has produced some strange results. Only the supremely talented Animal Kingdom could profess to be world class out of the six winners there, with the other five simply operating to best effect on the big night. It was a different story at Nad Al Sheba, where true champions regularly triumphed.
Those strange results could well come to an end with America set to field not only California Chrome, Frosted and Keen Ice, but dual surface performer Mshawish, Hopportunity, trained by American Pharoah’s Bob Baffert, and Watershed, stable companion to Frosted.
Both Watershed and Frosted are trained by Kiaran McLaughlin in America for Godolphin, as is Marking who will line up in the Dubai Golden Shaheen. This marks a notable shift in how Godolphin operate in Dubai.
• Full schedule, ticket information here
Anything else to watch out for?
Janet Jackson may have cancelled her European tour last week but in Dubai the show must go on and the global superstar will take to the stage at 9.30pm, following the World Cup.
• Full schedule, ticket information here
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In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
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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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Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
MATCH INFO
Everton v Tottenham, Sunday, 8.30pm (UAE)
Match is live on BeIN Sports
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Healthcare spending to double to $2.2 trillion rupees
Launched a 641billion-rupee federal health scheme
Allotted 200 billion rupees for the recapitalisation of state-run banks
Around 1.75 trillion rupees allotted for privatisation and stake sales in state-owned assets
