It is like the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future are lining up in Hong Kong’s international races at Sha Tin on Sunday morning.
Among the four Group 1 races lie previous Dubai World Cup night winners, a reigning title holder in Al Quoz Sprint winner Sole Power and a smattering of horses who could well grace Meydan Racecourse for the first time in March.
It is three years and nine months since Cirrus Des Aigles scored in the Dubai Sheema Classic and a year later it was Helene Super Star who won the UAE Derby. Both horses face a stern test in the Vase, where defending champion and Dubai Sheema Classic runner-up Flintshire lies in wait.
As a sign of what may come, Vase rivals Dariyan and Ming Dynasty bid to become just the sixth horse aged three to win an international race in the Special Administrative Region since the event was first run in 1988.
Dariyan looks a colt of huge promise having chased home French Derby winner and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe third New Bay at Deauville in August.
Trainer Alain de Royer Dupre knows the route to Dubai, having won the Dubai Sheema Classic with Dolniya this year, but it is his compatriot Mikel Delzangles who is dreaming of success on the world’s most valuable card.
Ming Dynasty has shown at morning track work this week that the lighty-raced son of English Guineas winner King’s Best is maturing mentally. Whether it is enough for the white heat of international racing on his first start abroad is another matter entirely.
Whatever Ming Dynasty achieves in the 2,400-metre contest is likely to stand him in good stead for his proposed trip to the UAE in three months.
“He is just so relaxed here, which is amazing as he can be a bit crazy at times, and hopefully that’s a good sign,” Delzangles said.
“It will be good experience for him, and he will be a nice four year old, maybe for Dubai next year.”
Joining Ming Dynasty on the plane to the UAE is likely to be the British pair of Mondialiste and Godolphin’s Toormore, who do battle with local favourite Able Friend in the Mile.
The assignment looks a tall order for them.
Able Friend showed that his failed trip to Royal Ascot in June was simply a blip when he put up a huge performance giving away weight to win a Group 2 sprint handicap in October.
The “Beast From The East” then ran below par, but again giving weight, back over 1,600m last time out. He finished the final few hundred metres very quickly, which suggests he is in better form that many give him credit for.
The Mile is an acid test for Mondialiste, whose rapid ascent to global player must surely grate with trainer Freddy Head, who parted with him for €190,000 (Dh767,000) last July.
“These races around the bend seem to suit him,” trainer David O’Meara said of his Woodbine Mile winner.
“At the moment he’s been running well over a mile, but there is every chance we will step him up in trip in due course. He’s bred to stay farther.
“Depending on how this goes, he could go to the Dubai Turf.”
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House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
MATCH INFO
CAF Champions League semi-finals first-leg fixtures
Tuesday:
Primeiro Agosto (ANG) v Esperance (TUN) (8pm UAE)
Al Ahly (EGY) v Entente Setif (ALG) (11PM)
Second legs:
October 23
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Result:
1. Cecilie Hatteland (NOR) atop Alex - 31.46 seconds
2. Anna Gorbacheva (RUS) atop Curt 13 - 31.82 seconds
3. Georgia Tame (GBR) atop Cash Up - 32.81 seconds
4. Sheikha Latifa bint Ahmed Al Maktoum (UAE) atop Peanuts de Beaufour - 35.85 seconds
5. Miriam Schneider (GER) atop Benur du Romet - 37.53 seconds
6. Annika Sande (NOR) atop For Cash 2 - 31.42 seconds (4 penalties)
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
TOUR RESULTS AND FIXTURES
June 3: NZ Provincial Barbarians 7 Lions 13
June 7: Blues 22 Lions 16
June 10: Crusaders 3 Lions 12
June 13: Highlanders 23 Lions 22
June 17: Maori All Blacks 10 Lions 32
June 20: Chiefs 6 Lions 34
June 24: New Zealand 30 Lions 15
June 27: Hurricanes 31 Lions 31
July 1: New Zealand 21 Lions 24
July 8: New Zealand v Lions
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
ACL Elite (West) - fixtures
Monday, Sept 30
Al Sadd v Esteghlal (8pm)
Persepolis v Pakhtakor (8pm)
Al Wasl v Al Ahli (8pm)
Al Nassr v Al Rayyan (10pm)
Tuesday, Oct 1
Al Hilal v Al Shorta (10pm)
Al Gharafa v Al Ain (10pm)
J%20Street%20Polling%20Results
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SPECS
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UAE%20ILT20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMarquee%20players%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EMoeen%20Ali%2C%20Andre%20Russell%2C%20Dawid%20Malan%2C%20Wanindu%20Hasiranga%2C%20Sunil%20Narine%2C%20Evin%20Lewis%2C%20Colin%20Munro%2C%20Fabien%20Allen%2C%20Sam%20Billings%2C%20Tom%20Curran%2C%20Alex%20Hales%2C%20Dushmantha%20Chameera%2C%20Shimron%20Hetmyer%2C%20Akeal%20Hosein%2C%20Chris%20Jordan%2C%20Tom%20Banton%2C%20Sandeep%20Lamichhane%2C%20Chris%20Lynn%2C%20Rovman%20Powell%2C%20Bhanuka%20Rajapaksa%2C%20Mujeeb%20Ul%20Rahman%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInternational%20players%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ELahiru%20Kumara%2C%20Seekugge%20Prassanna%2C%20Charith%20Asalanka%2C%20Colin%20Ingram%2C%20Paul%20Stirling%2C%20Kennar%20Lewis%2C%20Ali%20Khan%2C%20Brandon%20Glover%2C%20Ravi%20Rampaul%2C%20Raymon%20Reifer%2C%20Isuru%20Udana%2C%20Blessing%20Muzarabani%2C%20Niroshan%20Dickwella%2C%20Hazaratullah%20Zazai%2C%20Frederick%20Klassen%2C%20Sikandar%20Raja%2C%20George%20Munsey%2C%20Dan%20Lawrence%2C%20Dominic%20Drakes%2C%20Jamie%20Overton%2C%20Liam%20Dawson%2C%20David%20Wiese%2C%20Qais%20Ahmed%2C%20Richard%20Gleeson%2C%20James%20Vince%2C%20Noor%20Ahmed%2C%20Rahmanullah%20Gurbaz%2C%20Navin%20Ul%20Haq%2C%20Sherfane%20Rutherford%2C%20Saqib%20Mahmood%2C%20Ben%20Duckett%2C%20Benny%20Howell%2C%20Ruben%20Trumpelman%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
