Sean Tarry got off the mark in Dubai with his first runner when National Colour won a Conditions Sprint at Nad Al Sheba in 2007.
The South African trainer does not envision a similarly rewarding effort from Heavy Metal, the Durban July winner who makes his first start in the UAE at Meydan Racecourse on Thursday.
The five-year-old gelding was declared on Tuesday alongside 13 others for the Al Fahidi Fort, a Group 2 turf contest staged over 1,400 metres. Heavy Metal has come to Dubai the long way, accompanying Mike de Kock’s legion of thoroughbreds that made their way from South Africa via Mauritius and England for a gruelling quarantine procedure. Heavy Metal has not run since propelling S’manga Khumalo to become the first black rider to win South Africa’s most iconic all-age Grade 1 handicap six months ago.
Although Tarry toyed with calling for Khumalo for his first ride at Meydan, Dubai regular Johnny Geroudis will be in the saddle for Thursday’s feature.
“I last saw Heavy Metal in quarantine in August,” Tarry said from Cape Town, having returned from a five-day visit to the UAE.
“Considering what he has been through in terms of travel, I am quite pleased with him. I am satisfied with his coat, I like how he is moving and his weight is good and he is eating well.”
Heavy Metal completed his preparation for the US$250,000 (Dh918,287) contest with a gallop over the 1,200m on the Meydan turf on Saturday.
Although the Durban July is staged over 2,200m, and Heavy Metal’s other win at the highest level was over 200m shorter, Tarry has no concerns about how his charge will deal with the drop in distance.
“He’s won over a mile, so it is not an absurd distance, but it is certainly short for him,” Tarry said.
“You have to look at the opportunity, and it is a reasonable place to start and if he finishes the race off well, I will be more than happy.
“I am not expecting to win, but if he runs into the money or happens to win, it will be a bonus. There is a lot of money on offer and he might just get a piece of the pie.”
Frankie Dettori, set to ride Mshawish in the same race for Al Shaqab, Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad’s new international racing operation, received a huge boost on Tuesday when Al Asayl confirmed the former Godolphin jockey would ride Battle Of Marengo for the duration of his Dubai World Cup Carnival campaign.
Battle Of Marengo, who was bought by Al Asayl in the summer with a view to running in the Dubai World Cup on March 29, is slated to make his UAE debut in the second round of the Al Maktoum Challenge on February 6. Dettori has not ridden since breaking his ankle before the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in October, but is set to make his comeback today at Lingfield in England.
“Al Asayl were looking for a jockey with a lot of top-level experience, which is hard on my stable jockey Tadhg O’Shea, who does all the work in the mornings,” trainer Ernst Oertel said.
“Frankie has confirmed he can ride for the duration of the Carnival. If Sheikh Joaan develops a World Cup contender, he is likely to keep with the jockey who has ridden the horse before.”
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
