South American jockeys, Silvestre De Sousa and Fernando Jara, took centre stage with each riding a double in the penultimate meeting at the Abu Dhabi racecourse on Sunday.
De Sousa, the reigning British champion jockey from Brazil, won the fourth and fifth races for two different trainers after Panamanian rider Jara grabbed the first two prizes on offer in the seven-race card.
“Riding a winner is always a happy moment,” said De Sousa, who steered Purebred Arabian Jaser to victory in the handicap over 2,200 metres and Muqaatil in the 1,400m maiden for thoroughbreds.
On both occasions, De Sousa timed his challenge perfectly. He brought Jaser with a run from the outside to win by two lengths from the Eric Lemartinel-trained Mukaram under Tadhg O’Shea.
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De Sousa was atop Jaser for the first time in his four local starts. The five-year-old chestnut has previously won three races from six starts in England.
“He’s a lovely strong horse. He has a lovely pedigree ad he deserved,” said De Sousa of Jaser.
For his second victory, De Sousa had Muqaatil well-placed behind the early pace setters before stepping on the gas on the final 200m to win by a length and-a-half from Nobelium ridden by Gerald Avranche.
“Muqaatil has taken some time but he won pretty well tonight,” the Brazilian said. “He wasn’t beaten too far in his last two starts and we were hopeful coming into this race. He’s progressing.”
Jara scooped the first two prizes in Abu Dhabi on Morjanah Al Reef and Bushrah Al Reef, both trained by Abdallah bin Hammadi.
The Panamanian jockey, who is remembered for his success in the 2007 Dubai World Cup on Invasor in the silks of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid, came in with a late run to take the opener by a neck from another Lemartinel-O’Shea runner Tawazun.
Jara denied the same trainer-jockey combination again half hour later with a similar ride and result.
“They have both run well this season and the results don’t surprise me,” Jara said. “The first one (Morjanah Al Reef) came into this race having run a good second in the Emirates Fillies Classic. That was a race with Prestige status and we quietly fancied his chances.
“Bushrah Al Reef was a winner over the course and distance two races ago. She too came into this race with a chance. Obviously happy with the result and for the connections.”
Lemartinel and O’Shea got one winner on the board by taking the concluding maiden on RB Brick House, but not before a terrific run to the line with Richard Mullen atop Helal Al Alawi’s Aseyl, with whom O’Shea is engaged in a battle for the UAE’s Jockeys Championship title.
The win took O’Shea’s tally to 41, six more than Mullen with four meetings left before the grand finale at the Dubai World Cup on March 31.
Harry Bentley rode Elise Jeanne’s MH Tawag to victory in the third race, and Omani jockey Anas Al Siyabi on Khalif Al Neyadi’s Al Gadeer edged out compatriot Saif Al Balushi aboard AZ Laheeb in the Wathba Stallion Cup, the sixth race.
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.
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets