Dubai World Cup: Bob Baffert says top-rated Arrogate will arrive at Meydan ready to run

Bob Baffert revealed that Arrogate will do little real work when he arrives at Meydan in the next few days ahead of his bid to win the $US10 million Dubai World Cup next Saturday.

Arrogate completed his preparation for the Emirates-sponsored $10 million race on Sunday with a workout under Martin Garcia over 1,400 metres on a deep track in 1m.25s.

The world’s highest-rated horse was set to depart his Californian base on Monday evening alongside stable companion and fellow World Cup hopeful Hoppertunity, who was third at Meydan 12 months ago.

The 64-year-old trainer suggested that Arrogate was virtually ready to run and that the most the roan son of Unbridled’s Song will do is a breeze or two at Meydan.

He cited the distance from the international stables to the racecourse proper, which is over a mile, as a significant factor. Horses in America are usually stabled on the racecourse.

“You’ve got to be really cautious, and you have to watch your horse every day,” the trainer told TVG. “The heat is a factor. It is long way to the track, they are not used to walking that far. We won’t do a lot with him. We’ll go easy with him.”

Baffert has saddled two Dubai World Cup winners in Silver Charm in 1998 and Captain Steve in 2001. His most recent success on the most valuable night in racing was when Secret Circle scooped the Dubai Golden Shaheen two seasons ago.

Arrogate travels to Dubai not only rated as the world’s best racehorse, but he is also set to become the highest-rated horse to ever contest the showpiece event in the UAE.

Arrogate is currently rated 134, and Postponed, who remains the favourite for the Dubai Sheema Classic despite his defeat at Super Saturday in the Dubai City Of Gold, is the next highest-rated horse on March 25 at 124.

Arrogate spearheads a formidable team from America in the World Cup that could number six, and fellow US challenger Gun Runner arrived in Florida on Sunday and will depart for Dubai on Tuesday after passing quarantine.

Gun Runner, trained by Steve Asmussen who won the 2008 World Cup with Curlin, won the Grade 1 Clark Handicap in November and followed that win up with victory in the Grade 3 Razorback Handicap.

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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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Evacuations to France hit by controversy

Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France