Kiaran McLaughlin does not expect Frosted to experience any difficulty on Meydan’s dirt surface when the US import makes his debut at Dubai in the second round of the Al Maktoum Challenge on Thursday.
The Godolphin colt will line up in the US$250,000 (Dh918,236) event alongside stablemate Elnaawi, both of whom will become the American handler’s first runners at Meydan.
Frosted, a four-year-old grey son of US sire Tapit, is the highest-rated horse in the 1,900-metre contest at 120, having won the Grade 1 Wood Memorial and Pennsylvania Derby last season.
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In between Frosted had to get used to seeing the short tail of American Pharoah power to victory in the Kentucky Derby, the Belmont Stakes, the Travers Stakes and finally the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland in October.
McLaughlin last had a runner in Dubai when Albertus Maximus was sixth in the final Dubai World Cup staged at Nad Al Sheba in 2009, having previously saddled Invasor to an impressive victory in the world’s most valuable race in 2007.
Moon Ballad, African Story and Prince Bishop have all used the Al Maktoum Challenge to warm up for Dubai World Cup success.
Ultimately, McLaughlin intends to run Frosted in the $10m race on March 26, most likely against Mubtaahij, who will have his first start at Meydan since he won the UAE Derby last season in the Group 3 Firebreak Stakes.
McLaughlin left America to come to Dubai on Sunday after he had saddled Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid’s Mohaymen to win the Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park to become the new Kentucky Derby favourite. He has yet to have his first sight of the UAE’s leading racecourse as his Dubai string is housed at Charlie Appleby’s Marmoom base.
“He has been training well and is right for this race,” McLaughlin said of Frosted. “I’d be disappointed if he lost and I hope he runs really well.
“He is lighter than last season, when he carried a lot of weight.
“I don’t see why he should not handle the dirt. It is why we have come out early, though. He still could run in the third round of the Al Maktoum Challenge on March 5, which is enough time before the World Cup.
“He has a strong constitution and tends to run better with training and racing.”
Previous experience of the Meydan dirt has proved crucial this season, but his class should see him prevail against his eight rivals.
That said, he may not have the race run to suit but jockey William Buick will have options from gate five.
The Al Maktoum Challenge has attracted seven other runners, including a whole host of horses who where behind Le Bernardin, who runs in the Firebreak Stakes, in the first round of the Maktoum Challenge on the opening night of the Carnival.
Layl, Prayer For Relief, Faulkner, Surfer, Special Fighter and Gold City all chased home Le Bernardin, and none of them are known for setting the pace.
“Frosted is best when he is stalking and tracking the pace,” McLaughlin said. “We’re not sure he will get a lead from a horse in this race, and if we do it might not be fast enough.”
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A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
