Tadhg O'Shea is chasing a third successive UAE jockey's title when the horse racing season kicks off at Meydan. Erika Rasmussen for The National
Tadhg O'Shea is chasing a third successive UAE jockey's title when the horse racing season kicks off at Meydan. Erika Rasmussen for The National
Tadhg O'Shea is chasing a third successive UAE jockey's title when the horse racing season kicks off at Meydan. Erika Rasmussen for The National
Tadhg O'Shea is chasing a third successive UAE jockey's title when the horse racing season kicks off at Meydan. Erika Rasmussen for The National

UAE horse racing preview: Tadhg O’Shea signs with Jebel Ali Stables plus Meydan and Abu Dhabi predictions


Amith Passela
  • English
  • Arabic

Meydan race card

6.30pm: Maiden; Dh165,000; (Dirt) 1,200m
7.05pm: Handicap; Dh170,000; (D) 1,200m​​​​​​​
7.40pm: Maiden; Dh165,000; (D) 1,900m​​​​​​​
8.15pm: Handicap; Dh185,000; (D) 2,000m​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
8.50pm: Handicap; Dh185,000; (D) 1,600m​​​​​​​
9.25pm: Handicap; Dh165,000; (D) 2,000m

Meydan prepares to mark the Dubai World Cup silver jubilee next March by staging the season’s opening meeting for the first time since the flagship racecourse opened in 2010.

As racing returns for another season on Thursday night, a few changes have taken place but none as notable as the new roles of the UAE champion jockey Tadhg O’Shea.

The Irishman, who last season moved out on his own as as the country's all-time leading jockey with 511 career wins, has joined the Jebel Ali Stables as the retained rider for trainer Nicholas Bachalard.

Busy as ever, the seven-time UAE champion O'Shea also continues to be the first choice jockey for the UAE champion trainer-owner combo of Ernst Oertel and Khalid Khalifa Al Naboodah at the Desert 1 Stables.

“It works out well for me because at Jebel Ali I’ll be riding thoroughbreds and the Arabians for Ernst and Khalid,” O'Shea said.

“For me to be offered a job at Jebel Ali was a huge honour and I’m grateful. I’ll do all I can to justify the faith they have put in me.”

O’Shea, 37, equalled Ted Durcan's record of seven UAE jockey’s titles last season and is chasing a third-straight crown this term.

“Records are good and I’m happy as and when it comes but like every season, I start from scratch,” O’Shea said.

“I don’t want to say that I want to win this and that. I don’t want to set personal goals because when you do that, you may end up with many disappointments.”

O'Shea has a busy opening night as he is booked in all six races at Meydan on Thursday. He rides Laa Baas in a race for two-year-olds in the first race and later partners Top Clearance (4th race) and Giant Hero (5th), all for Bachalard.

In-between he will be aboard Satish Seemar’s Midlander, Blue Sovereign for Erwan Charpy and Jaber Ramadan’s Litigation in the concluding handicap.

The opener that has drawn seven runners of the classic generation looks the most interesting of the six races.

Last year Walking Thunder, trained by Ahmad bin Harmash, won it in the silks of the Phoenix Ladies Syndicate before going on to clinch the 2000 Guineas Trial.

The same connections send out Mambo Mischief, a son of one of the top dirt sires in the world, Into Mischief, who was purchased for $150,000 (Dh551,000) at the OBS April sale in Ocala, Florida.

O’Shea wears the Jebel Ali silks of Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid, a Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up Sale purchase in April.

Also creating some buzz is Cosmo Kramer, from the same connections that provided the 2017 Al Bastakiya winner Cosmo Charlie. The Munnings colt trained by Doug Watson has the services of stable jockey Pat Dobbs.

Salem bin Ghadayer sends out Attribution, a Competitive Edge colt also sourced at the Ocala Spring Sale, where he cost $180,000.

Richard Mullen rides the Satish Seemar-trained Barack Beach while Fernando Jara gets the reins atop Al Modayar for Ali Rashid Al Raihe .

Helal Al Alawi's Puzzle Elegance completes the field with Pat Cosgrave back as the stable jockey for the Emirati trainer.

The action moves to Abu Dhabi on Friday for a six-race card made up of five prizes for the Purebred Arabians and a handicap for thoroughbreds.

The highlight is the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown Prep, a Rated Conditions race over 1,600m for the Arabians.

The National selections for Thursday's meet at Meydan

6.30pm: (First choice) Attribution – (second choice) Laa Baas
7.05pm: Speedy Move – Zaajer
7.40pm: Zalmi Star – Mulfit
8.15pm: Big Brown Bear – Welford
9.50pm: George Villiers – Moqarrar
10.25pm: Hucklebuck – Cranesbill

The National’s selection for Friday's meet at Abu Dhabi

5pm: (First choice) AF Yeheeb – (second choice) Darya
5.30pm: AF Arrab – Raniah
6pm: AF La'Asae – Foaad
6.30pm: RB Lam Tara – ES Ajeeb
7pm: AF Ashras – AF Hakeem
7.30pm: Travis County – Galesburg

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher:  Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5

Honeymoonish
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Elie%20El%20Samaan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENour%20Al%20Ghandour%2C%20Mahmoud%20Boushahri%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The National selections

Al Ain

5pm: Bolereau
5.30pm: Rich And Famous
6pm: Duc De Faust
6.30pm: Al Thoura​​​​​​​
7pm: AF Arrab​​​​​​​
7.30pm: Al Jazi​​​​​​​
8pm: Futoon

Jebel Ali

1.45pm: AF Kal Noor​​​​​​​
2.15pm: Galaxy Road
2.45pm: Dark Thunder
3.15pm: Inverleigh​​​​​​​
3.45pm: Bawaasil​​​​​​​
4.15pm: Initial
4.45pm: Tafaakhor

Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

Wicked: For Good

Director: Jon M Chu

Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater

Rating: 4/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Three ways to limit your social media use

Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.

1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.

2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information. 

3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.

Analysis

Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more

The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
Match info

Premier League

Manchester United 2 (Martial 30', Lingard 69')
Arsenal 2 (Mustafi 26', Rojo 68' OG)

LILO & STITCH

Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders

Director: Dean Fleischer Camp

Rating: 4.5/5

Donating your hair

    •    Your hair should be least 30 cms long, as some of the hair is lost during manufacturing of the wigs.
    •    Clean, dry hair in good condition (no split ends) from any gender, and of any natural colour, is required.
    •    Straight, wavy, curly, permed or chemically straightened is permitted.
    •    Dyed hair must be of a natural colour
 

 

DIVINE%20INTERVENTOIN
%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Elia%20Suleiman%2C%20Manal%20Khader%2C%20Amer%20Daher%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Elia%20Suleiman%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Results:

Men's wheelchair 800m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 1.44.79; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 1.45.88; 3. Isaac Towers (GBR) 1.46.46.

Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters

The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.

 Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.

A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.

The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.

The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.

Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.

Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment

But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.

ACC%20T20%20Women%E2%80%99s%20Championship
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20fixtures%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EFriday%2C%20June%2017%20v%20Oman%3Cbr%3ESaturday%2C%20June%2018%20v%20Singapore%3Cbr%3EMonday%2C%20June%2020%20v%20Malaysia%3Cbr%3EWednesday%2C%20June%2022%20v%20Qatar%3Cbr%3EFriday%2C%20June%2024%2C%20semi-final%3Cbr%3ESaturday%2C%20June%2025%2C%20final%3Cbr%3E%20%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20squad%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Chaya%20Mughal%20(captain)%2C%20Esha%20Oza%2C%20Indhuja%20Nandakumar%2C%20Kavisha%20Kumari%2C%20Khushi%20Sharma%2C%20Lavanya%20Keny%2C%20Priyanjali%20Jain%2C%20Rithika%20Rajith%2C%20Samaira%20Dharnidharka%2C%20Sanchin%20Singh%2C%20Siya%20Gokhale%2C%20Suraksha%20Kotte%2C%20Theertha%20Satish%2C%20Vaishnave%20Mahesh%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs

Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8

Transmission: seven-speed

Power: 720hp

Torque: 770Nm

Price: Dh1,100,000

On sale: now

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League, semi-final result:

Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona

Liverpool win 4-3 on aggregate

Champions Legaue final: June 1, Madrid

The specs

Price: From Dh529,000

Engine: 5-litre V8

Transmission: Eight-speed auto

Power: 520hp

Torque: 625Nm

Fuel economy, combined: 12.8L/100km

Roll of honour 2019-2020

Dubai Rugby Sevens

Winners: Dubai Hurricanes

Runners up: Bahrain

 

West Asia Premiership

Winners: Bahrain

Runners up: UAE Premiership

 

UAE Premiership

Winners: Dubai Exiles

Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes

 

UAE Division One

Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens

Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II

 

UAE Division Two

Winners: Barrelhouse

Runners up: RAK Rugby

The bio

Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home

Roll%20of%20Honour%2C%20men%E2%80%99s%20domestic%20rugby%20season
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Spec%20sheet
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Three tips from La Perle's performers

1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.

2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.

3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.

Malcolm & Marie

Directed by: Sam Levinson

Starring: John David Washington and Zendaya

Three stars

SHAITTAN
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UAE%20PREMIERSHIP
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFinal%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%20Hurricanes%20v%20Jebel%20Ali%20Dragons%0D%3Cbr%3E%0DSaturday%2C%208.15pm%2C%20Al%20Ain%20Amblers%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESemi-final%20results%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EDubai%20Exiles%2020-26%20Dubai%20Hurricanes%0D%3Cbr%3EDubai%20Tigers%2032-43%20Jebel%20Ali%20Dragons%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ETable%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E1%20Dubai%20Tigers%2C%2033%20points%0D%3Cbr%3E2%20Dubai%20Exiles%2C%2024%20points%0D%3Cbr%3E3%20Dubai%20Hurricanes%2C%2018%20points%0D%3Cbr%3E4%20Jebel%20Ali%20Dragons%2C%2014%20points%0D%3Cbr%3E5%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Harlequins%2C%2014%20points%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
EA Sports FC 26

Publisher: EA Sports

Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S

Rating: 3/5

Meydan race card

6.30pm: Maiden; Dh165,000; (Dirt) 1,200m
7.05pm: Handicap; Dh170,000; (D) 1,200m​​​​​​​
7.40pm: Maiden; Dh165,000; (D) 1,900m​​​​​​​
8.15pm: Handicap; Dh185,000; (D) 2,000m​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
8.50pm: Handicap; Dh185,000; (D) 1,600m​​​​​​​
9.25pm: Handicap; Dh165,000; (D) 2,000m