Abdullah Saeed Al Naboodah’s Nathra enhanced her Classic claims when she posted a gutsy win in the Nell Gwyn Stakes at Newmarket on Tuesday.
Nathra powered through the soft ground under Frankie Dettori to win the Group 3 race over 1,400 metres from outsiders Squash and Robanne. Godolphin’s First Victory was sixth.
Trained in Newmarket by John Gosden, Nathra proved no match for Aidan O’Brien’s Minding in last season’s Group 1 Fillies’ Mile and could easily skip a rematch back here on May 1st in the English 1,000 Guineas.
“She’s done nothing but stay and it pays a huge compliment to Minding, who in my mind is the most impressive Fillies’ Mile winner we’ve ever seen,” Gosden said.
“I’m really happy. She’s in both the French Guineas and the 1,000 Guineas. She probably won’t run in both.
“We’ll see how she is over the next 10 days, it will be one way or the other.”
There was a strong showing from UAE-owned horses and Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid was at Newmarket earlier on the card to see his silks dominate the seven-furlong Conditions race.
Thikriyaat came with a late run under Dane O’Neill to collar Tabarrak, ridden by Paul Hanagan.
It was a second victory from as many starts for Thikriyaat, who is a three-year-old son of 2005 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Azamour and is trained by Michael Stoute.
Godolphin flag-bearer Jack Hobbs will take his chance in the Group 2 Jockey Club Stakes at Newmarket during the Guineas Festival.
Last season’s Irish Derby winner, who looked bigger and stronger than last season, enjoyed a racecourse gallop along the Rowley Mile before racing in tandem with stablemate Dick Doughtywylie.
Ridden by William Buick, the son of Halling, a five-time Group 1 winner and four-time winner in Dubai, powered well clear of his companion despite showing inexperience of the course’s contours.
“Physically, he has put on 40 kilos since his last run,” Gosden said afterwards. “He’s a lot stronger through his neck but he’s never going to be a heavy horse as his father wasn’t.
“He’s done very well at home and has pleased all of us.”
Jack Hobbs twice finished behind European Horse of the Year Golden Horn last season before he scooped the Irish Derby at the Curragh in June. He then won a Conditions race at Kempton before he finished third in the Group 1 Champion Stakes in October.
Gosden revealed that the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot in July, when he would clash with Dubai Sheema Classic winner Postponed, would be the mid-season target before a possible tilt at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in October.
Godolphin chief executive and racing manager John Ferguson has already suggested the 2017 Sheema Classic is an intended target.
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Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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