Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance, was in attendance at Glorious Goodwood to witness Muthmir win the Qatar King George Stakes.
Having progressed through the handicapping ranks last season, five-year-old Muthmir landed a Group Two in France at the end of May and was only narrowly denied in Group One company at Royal Ascot in the King’s Stand.
He seemed unsuited to Newmarket’s undulations and possibly the sixth furlong last time out, but on Goodwood’s rapid downhill five, he held off last year’s winner Take Cover with Prix de l’Abbaye hero Move In Time running a sound race in third.
All roads now lead to York for the first three, with Muthmir taking his place for the Nunthorpe behind the hot favourite Acapulco.
“He’s fast and they went very fast — he’s got a turn of foot,” trainer William Haggas said.
“He won in France and he had a (4lb) penalty for this so he was the best horse in the race.
“I would say that (Nunthorpe at York on August 21) is exactly where we’ll go.”
Winning rider Paul Hanagan said: “It’s great to get a nice winner for the boss (Sheikh Hamdan) this week and he’s here today as well.
“I got a lovely tow into the race and he loves it when they go really quick, a strong pace really suits him.”
Betfred Mile So Beloved by O’Meara
David O’Meara was without a Glorious Goodwood winner before So Beloved justified strong market support in the Betfred Mile.
Victorious at York earlier this year, he is another older horse whom O’Meara has transformed into a top-class performer.
Belgian Bill looked the winner for much of the straight but Danny Tudhope drove his mount to a three-quarters of a length success.
“So Beloved has any amount of ability. He showed that a couple of starts back at York when he won really well from a bad position,” O’Meara said.
“He settled well today and was given a great ride by Danny.”
Dubday and Dettori victorious
Qatar challenger Dubday claimed victory under Frankie Dettori in the Betfred Glorious Stakes after The Corsican met trouble in running.
Jassim Al Ghazali’s charge is the star performer in his homeland, notably landing a repeat success in the prestigious Emir’s Trophy at Doha earlier in the year, and he arrived on the Sussex Downs having filled the runner-up spot in Listed events at Newbury and Newmarket.
“It’s the first winner for Qatar (trainers) in the UK,” Dettori said.
“I take my hat off to Jassim, he’s done a fantastic job with him.
“In fairness, he picked up really well — he just idled a bit in front.
“It’s a big achievement to take this horse from Qatar to here and win.”
Al Ghazali, who plans to send up to 30 horses to be campaigned in Britain next season and is the dominant force with thoroughbreds in Qatar, said: “I’m very happy — it’s a big, big win for me.”
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How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers
Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.
It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.
The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.
Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.
He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”
A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.
Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.
Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.
Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.
By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.
Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.
In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”
Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.
She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.
Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
