Godolphin will arrive at Meydan on Thursday looking to add to an already considerable list of winners during this year's Dubai World Cup Carnival.
The Dubai racing operation has racked up 22 winners in seven meetings so far and are likely to add to that tally with 13 horses entered for five prizes in the seven-race card.
The feature races are the opening Meydan Sprint and the Zabeel Mile, the fifth race, both Group 2 prizes. The Group 3 Dubai Millennium Stakes is the other and all three run on the turf.
Godolphin are double handed in the Zabeel Mile with the Charlie Appleby-trained Bay Of Poets with William Buick atop and Saeed bin Suroor’s Dream Castle under Pat Cosgrave.
Bay Of Poets comes into the race with two runs under his belt at this year's Carnival. The Dubawi colt was sixth behind Godolphin’s Benbatl in the Group 3 Singspiel Stakes in his first outing and runner-up behind the same horse in the Group 2 Al Rashidiya three weeks ago.
“He’s a horse who always travels well through his races and we are hoping that a strongly-run mile will play to his strengths,” Appleby told the Godolphin website.
Dream Castle has also had two runs at Meydan this season, finishing seventh behind stable companion Salsabeel in a handicap rated 95-115 followed by a close third behind another Godolphin runner, Jungle Cat, in the Group 2 Al Fahidi Fort.
“He always shows a lot of class in his work in the mornings and ran well to finish fifth over this trip in last year’s 2,000 Guineas,” Bin Suroor said.
“He is fit, ready to go and I am hoping there are no excuses for him this time.”
The US$250,000 (just over Dh918,000) race has drawn 10 runners and includes South African Group 1 winner Whisky Baron, last year’s winner Championship and Al Fahidi Fort runner-up Janoobi.
Appleby’s Blue Point looks an exciting entry in the Meydan Sprint. The 1,000m dash has drawn six runners, including Ertijaal, last year’s winner of this race. Appleby, though, quietly fancies the Shamardal colt’s chances despite tackling the 1,000m trip for the first time in 10 career starts.
“He’s in great order and his preparation has gone very well,” Appleby said of Blue Point. “This will be his prep race for the Al Quoz Sprint on Dubai World Cup Night [31 March] and I would expect there to be some improvement to come for his first run of the season.
“He is racing over five furlongs for the first time but he shows a lot of natural pace and it wouldn’t be a concern. It could potentially open up a few options looking ahead to the European season.”
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Godolphin have four entered in the Dubai Millennium Stakes spearheaded by Appleby’s Folkswood, runner-up in the Group 1 Jebel Hatta on Super Saturday last year.
Folkswood produced a career-high when finishing third to Winx in the Group 1 Cox Plate at Moonee Valley and then produced a creditable performance to finish fifth in the Group 1 Emirates Stakes at Flemington in November, both in Australia.
“He looks in good order and this will be a nice prep race ahead of another crack at the Jebel Hatta next month,” Appleby said.
The five-year-old gelding by Exceed And Excel is joined by Bin Suroor’s trio of Leshlaa, winner of a handicap over the same course and distance, Group 3 runner-up Carry On Deryck and Team Talk, a Listed winner in England.
“Leshlaa won nicely over this course and distance on his latest start but this will be a tougher race,” said Bin Suroor.
“He comes into this contest in good form and I am hopeful of another good result.
“Team Talk has been working well and is ready to go again, while I have been happy with Carry On Deryck since his last run.”
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RACECARD:
6.30pm: Meydan Sprint Group 2; US$175,000; 1,000m
7.05pm: Handicap; $60,000; 1,400m.
7.40pm: Handicap; $160,000; 1,400m.
8.15pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes Group 3; $200,000; 2,000m.
8.50pm: Zabeel Mile Group 2; $250,000; 1,600m.
9.25pm: Handicap; $125,000; 1,600m.
10pm: Handicap; $125,000; 2,410m.
Recipe
Garlicky shrimp in olive oil
Gambas Al Ajillo
Preparation time: 5 to 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
180ml extra virgin olive oil; 4 to 5 large cloves of garlic, minced or pureed (or 3 to 4 garlic scapes, roughly chopped); 1 or 2 small hot red chillies, dried (or ¼ teaspoon dried red chilli flakes); 400g raw prawns, deveined, heads removed and tails left intact; a generous splash of sweet chilli vinegar; sea salt flakes for seasoning; a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Method
▶ Heat the oil in a terracotta dish or frying pan. Once the oil is sizzling hot, add the garlic and chilli, stirring continuously for about 10 seconds until golden and aromatic.
▶ Add a splash of sweet chilli vinegar and as it vigorously simmers, releasing perfumed aromas, add the prawns and cook, stirring a few times.
▶ Once the prawns turn pink, after 1 or 2 minutes of cooking, remove from the heat and season with sea salt flakes.
▶ Once the prawns are cool enough to eat, scatter with parsley and serve with small forks or toothpicks as the perfect sharing starter. Finish off with crusty bread to soak up all that flavour-infused olive oil.
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Big%20Ape%20Productions%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20LucasArts%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsoles%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PC%2C%20PlayStation%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Background: Chemical Weapons
MATCH INFO
Borussia Dortmund 0
Bayern Munich 1 (Kimmich 43')
Man of the match: Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Thursday (All UAE kick-off times)
Sevilla v Real Betis (midnight)
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
MATCH INFO
Norwich City 0 Southampton 3 (Ings 49', Armstrong 54', Redmond 79')
Three ways to get a gratitude glow
By committing to at least one of these daily, you can bring more gratitude into your life, says Ong.
- During your morning skincare routine, name five things you are thankful for about yourself.
- As you finish your skincare routine, look yourself in the eye and speak an affirmation, such as: “I am grateful for every part of me, including my ability to take care of my skin.”
- In the evening, take some deep breaths, notice how your skin feels, and listen for what your skin is grateful for.
more from Janine di Giovanni
Most F1 world titles
7 — Michael Schumacher (1994, ’95, 2000, ’01 ’02, ’03, ’04)
7 — Lewis Hamilton (2008, ’14,’15, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20)
5 — Juan Manuel Fangio (1951, ’54, ’55, ’56, ’57)
4 — Alain Prost (1985, ’86, ’89, ’93)
4 — Sebastian Vettel (2010, ’11, ’12, ’13)
Results
2pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m, Winner: AF Thayer, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
2.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,200m, Winner: AF Sahwa, Nathan Crosse, Mohamed Ramadan.
3pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,000m, Winner: AF Thobor, Szczepan Mazur, Ernst Oertel.
3.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 2,000m, Winner: AF Mezmar, Szczepan Mazur, Ernst Oertel.
4pm: Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup presented by Longines (TB) Dh 200,000 (D) 1,700m, Winner: Galvanize, Nathan Cross, Doug Watson.
4.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,700m, Winner: Ajaj, Bernardo Pinheiro, Mohamed Daggash.
The biog
Year of birth: 1988
Place of birth: Baghdad
Education: PhD student and co-researcher at Greifswald University, Germany
Hobbies: Ping Pong, swimming, reading
Race card
6.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (Dirt) 1.600m
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 2,000m
7.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,600m
8.15pm: The Garhoud Sprint Listed (TB) Dh 132,500 (D) 1,200m
8.50pm: The Entisar Listed (TB) Dh 132,500 (D) 2,000m
9.25pm: Conditions (TB) Dh 120,000 (D) 1,400m
The specs
Engine: 2.3-litre, turbo four-cylinder
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Power: 300hp
Torque: 420Nm
Price: Dh189,900
On sale: now
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
SQUAD
Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Adel Al Hosani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Mohammed Barghash, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Hassan Al Mahrami, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Yousef Jaber, Saeed Ahmed, Majed Sorour, Majed Hassan, Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Khalil Al Hammadi, Fabio De Lima, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Ali Saleh, Caio Canedo, Muhammed Jumah, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
Scores
Day 2
New Zealand 153 & 56-1
Pakistan 227
New Zealand trail by 18 runs with nine wickets remaining
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
