Doug Watson consolidated his lead in the UAE trainer’s championship with a splendid treble at Meydan on Sunday.
The seven-time champion combined with stable jockey Pat Dobbs to land the second race with Sari Dubai, the fourth with Al Nayyir, and the penultimate prize with Qareeb in the seven-race card.
Al Nayyir was winning his third race in four starts for the season. Dobbs had him well settled behind the leaders before overcoming Adrie de Vries and Withering in a dual to the finish line.
Dobbs rode a similar race on board Qareeb. He settled his mount behind Bernardo Pinheiro and Grand Dubai and the two battled it out to the end on the home stretch for the Red Stables to complete the treble.
The three winners took Watson’s tally to 26, five more than his nearest challenger Ernst Oertel.
“It was a good night’s meeting for us,” Watson said. “Qareeb had a nice race there, just off the pace. He’s a big strong horse and was coming off three weeks from his last race. He’s been pretty active and won very well.
“Al Nayyir stepped down in distance but he came on well at the end,” Watson added of the five-year-old Dubawi gelding’s victory by a length-and-a-quarter in the 2,000-metre turf handicap.
“We didn’t have an option and when I saw the pace out there I thought he wouldn’t make it. He did his job well tonight.”
Godolphin trainer Saeed bin Suroor and Daniel Tudhope seem to have struck a fantastic partnership.
They combined to land the second of the two featured turf handicaps with Open Mind, the royal blues' only entry of the meeting.
Open Mind, making his first appearance in the Emirates, tracked the early leaders before Tudhope pressed the button to motor to the front and win from Tadhg O’Shea and Western Symphony by half-a-length.
Connor Planas, 19, finally celebrated his first win in the UAE by taking the opening race and solitary prize for the Purebred Arabians on board Helal Al Alawi’s RB Seqondtonone.
The Zabeel Stables-based apprentice was runner up three times and third five times in 41 rides in his first season in the Emirates.
Results
6pm: DVCC Metaverse – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner: RB Seqondtonone, Connor Planas (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
6.35pm: DVCC Racing – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,600m
Winner: Sari Dubai, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
7.10pm: DVCC Adventure – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Magic Petition, Ray Dawson, Ahmad bin Harmash
7.45pm: DVCC Voyage – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 2,000m
Winner: Al Nayyir, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
8.20pm: DVCC Expedition – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Open Mind, Daniel Tudhope, Saeed bin Suroor
8.55pm: DVCC Elegant Lifestyle – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,900m
Winner: Qareeb, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
9.30pm: DVCC.COM – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (T) 1,000m
Winner: Leading Spirit, Patrick Cosgrave, Bhupat Seemar
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
THE DRAFT
The final phase of player recruitment for the T10 League has taken place, with UAE and Indian players being drafted to each of the eight teams.
Bengal Tigers
UAE players: Chirag Suri, Mohammed Usman
Indian: Zaheer Khan
Karachians
UAE players: Ahmed Raza, Ghulam Shabber
Indian: Pravin Tambe
Kerala Kings
UAE players: Mohammed Naveed, Abdul Shakoor
Indian: RS Sodhi
Maratha Arabians
UAE players: Zahoor Khan, Amir Hayat
Indian: S Badrinath
Northern Warriors
UAE players: Imran Haider, Rahul Bhatia
Indian: Amitoze Singh
Pakhtoons
UAE players: Hafiz Kaleem, Sheer Walli
Indian: RP Singh
Punjabi Legends
UAE players: Shaiman Anwar, Sandy Singh
Indian: Praveen Kumar
Rajputs
UAE players: Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed
Indian: Munaf Patel
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
THE SPECS
Jaguar F-Pace SVR
Engine: 5-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 680Nm
Price: Dh465,071
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Charlotte Gainsbourg
Rest
(Because Music)
