Tom Queally reports that the Dubai World Cup favourite Twice Over to have made progress since his winning appearance at Meydan on March 3.
Henry Cecil is anxious to win the US$10 million (Dh36.7m) race for his long-standing owner Prince Khalid Abdullah and he has changed his approach in training the six-year-old this time, bringing him over for a round of the Maktoum Challenge on the course.
Last year Twice Over only had the benefit of a racecourse gallop at Lingfield before finishing 10th in the World Cup, where he was undone by a combination of an unfavourable draw and bad luck in running.
He went on to win the Coral-Eclipse and the Champion Stakes as well as placing in other key Group One races.
Queally, who described Twice Over's appearance on the track at Meydan on Tuesday as "a routine piece of work", said: "He's grand. I'm happy enough with him and it's so far, so good.
"He looks to have tightened up a little since the run and let's just hope we get some luck this year.
"He'll have a blow on Friday and hopefully we'll get him there in one piece."
Gitano Hernando has met Twice Over on a handful of occasions and the other British-trained World Cup contender is another to have been given plenty of time to get accustomed to the heat.
He was sent off favourite for last year's race and finished sixth under Kieren Fallon but will have Johnny Murtagh in the saddle on Saturday.
The strapping chestnut was behind Twice Over in the Champion Stakes and then third to him in the Al Maktoum Challenge.
This will be his final start for Marco Botti and Team Valor, as he will switch to Herman Brown and run under the ownership of the controversial Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov.
Botti's wife Lucia reported: "He did an ordinary canter on the Tapeta and is in very good form.
"He seems very well and is where we want him coming into the race. He has definitely improved with each of his runs here and that was always the plan.
"He has one more piece of work to do before the World Cup and he will possibly do that on Thursday. Johnny Murtagh rode him last time he raced and will again partner him this weekend."
FIXTURES
Monday, January 28
Iran v Japan, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)
Tuesday, January 29
UAEv Qatar, Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)
Friday, February 1
Final, Zayed Sports City Stadium (6pm)
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
