The Japanese runners dominated the 26th Dubai World Cup meeting, winning four of the seven supporting races for the thoroughbreds and sharing the $5 million Group 1 Dubai Turf.
The Yoshito Yahagi-trained Panthalassa with Yutaka Yoshida on top and the Frankie Dettori-ridden Lord North, winner of the prize 12 months ago, finished in a dead-heat in the most thrilling finish on the night.
However, the most popular winner of the meeting was Bhupat Seemar’s local-trained Switzerland under champion jockey Tadhg O’Shea in the silks of the UAE Football Association President Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi’s RRR Racing.
The Meydan crowd went up in a roar when O'Shea pulled Switzerland out to the centre of the track before charging to a length and three-quarter victory over last year's runner-up Red Le Zele, who was relegated to second again, with top American sprinter Dr Schivel just grabbing third ahead of Chain Of Love.
The early speed between Wondrwherecraigis and Drain The Clock going toe-to-toe at slick fractions in front set race up perfectly for Switzerland to steal the show.
“It’s such a fantastic result,” Seemar, who is the leading trainer in his first season with a training licence, said of the eight year old Speightstown gelding.
“We’ve always really liked the horse. Tadgh and I spoke this morning and made a plan. Knew there’d be plenty of pace in the race so wanted to pick up the pieces.
“Turning for home Tadgh said we’d just go with one kick. We’ll look to bring him back next year and you never know, even at eight there could be some more improvement in him.
“It’s a fantastic team we have behind us and I need to thank so many people, I’m in a very privileged position.”
O’Shea, who is chasing an unprecedented 10th UAE jockeys championship title, couldn’t have wished for a better finish to the season.
“There was a lot speed on and this horse excels in a truly run race,” the Irishman said.
“We were the outsider today and I said to Bhupat let's ride him accordingly. There's no point putting him in the race and getting him in a speed duel, so we rode him like we did in the Al Garhoud Sprint [at Meydan on New Year's Day] and if he shows that turn of foot he'd be competitive.
“Thankfully it all worked and he's a horse who grew in confidence as the race went on. They were starting to stop and flounder and he was coming harder on the bridle – so it was fantastic.
“He came back from Saudi Arabia (in the Saudi Cup meeting last month) with a dirty scope and he was drawn bad there.
“It was a shame I couldn't go and ride him there but he's come back better than ever, I'd say that's a career best. It's my first Group 1 winner and I'm in the 40 club! I have a good mate Adrian Nicholls who said 'don't give up, it'll come’.”
A Case Of You got one across to the Irish trainer-jockey partnership by taking the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint.
The Hot Streak colt hit the front between the final two furlongs and never looked like being caught, scoring by a length and a quarter from British raider Happy Romance and Godolphin trainer Charlie Appleby’s Man Of Promise.
“I knew he had improved plenty from the last day. Ronan Whelan gave him a great ride, he was super cool,” his trainer Adrian McGuinness said.
“He’s only four and he’ll only get better. I think he’ll win another Group 1 this year and the long-term target at the end of the year will be back at the Breeders’ Cup.”
The Japanese trainer Yoshito Yahagi saddled a double and shared the Dubai Turf with John Gosden.
Results
3.45pm: Dubai Kahayla Classic – Group 1 (PA) $1,000,000 (Dirt) 2,000m
Winner: First Classs, Ronan Thomas (jockey), Albad de Mieulle (trainer)
4.20pm: Godolphin Mile – Group 2 (TB) $1,000,000 (D) 1.600m
Winner: Bathrat Leon, Ryusei Sakai, Yoshito Yahagi
4.45pm: Dubai Gold Cup – Group 2 (TB) $1,000,000 (Turf) 3,200m
Winner: Stay Foolish, Christophe Lemaire, Yoshito Yahagi
5.35pm: Al Quoz Sprint – Group 1 (TB) $1,500,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: A Case Of You, Ronan Whelan, Adrian McGuinness
6.10pm: UAE Derby – Group 2 (TB) $1,000,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner: Crown Pride, Damian Lane, Koichi Shintani
6.45pm: Dubai Golden Shaheen – Group 1 (TB) $2,000,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Switzerland, Tadhg O’Shea, Bhupat Seemar
7.20pm: Dubai Turf – Group 1 (TB) $5,000,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner: Lord North, Panthassar (dead-heat), Frankie Dettori-Yutaka Yoshida, John Gisden-Yoshito Yahagi
7.55pm: Dubai Sheema Classic – Group 1 (TB) $6,000,000 (T) 2,410m
Winner: Shahryar, Cristiano Demuro, Hideaki Fujiwara
8.30pm: Dubai World Cup – Group 1 (TB) $12,000,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Country Grammer, Frankie Dettori, Bob Baffert
US%20federal%20gun%20reform%20since%20Sandy%20Hook
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
The%20specs
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
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The five pillars of Islam
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
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MATCH DETAILS
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Profile
Name: Carzaty
Founders: Marwan Chaar and Hassan Jaffar
Launched: 2017
Employees: 22
Based: Dubai and Muscat
Sector: Automobile retail
Funding to date: $5.5 million
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
'Outclassed in Kuwait'
Taleb Alrefai,
HBKU Press
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Tom Fletcher on 'soft power'
Strait of Hormuz
Fujairah is a crucial hub for fuel storage and is just outside the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route linking Middle East oil producers to markets in Asia, Europe, North America and beyond.
The strait is 33 km wide at its narrowest point, but the shipping lane is just three km wide in either direction. Almost a fifth of oil consumed across the world passes through the strait.
Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait, a move that would risk inviting geopolitical and economic turmoil.
Last month, Iran issued a new warning that it would block the strait, if it was prevented from using the waterway following a US decision to end exemptions from sanctions for major Iranian oil importers.
Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
SHAITTAN
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2020 Oscars winners: in numbers
- Parasite – 4
- 1917– 3
- Ford v Ferrari – 2
- Joker – 2
- Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood – 2
- American Factory – 1
- Bombshell – 1
- Hair Love – 1
- Jojo Rabbit – 1
- Judy – 1
- Little Women – 1
- Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl) – 1
- Marriage Story – 1
- Rocketman – 1
- The Neighbors' Window – 1
- Toy Story 4 – 1