Jockey Patrick Dobbs put Famous Warrior in position for a charge on his favourite tapeta surface to be assured of victory.
Jockey Patrick Dobbs put Famous Warrior in position for a charge on his favourite tapeta surface to be assured of victory.
Jockey Patrick Dobbs put Famous Warrior in position for a charge on his favourite tapeta surface to be assured of victory.
Jockey Patrick Dobbs put Famous Warrior in position for a charge on his favourite tapeta surface to be assured of victory.

Sport

Watson's twin joy with Famous Warrior and Profondo Rosso

Dobbs's win shows Famous Warrior loves the tapeta surface at Meydan and could be a Carnival contender.

John Byrne

November 22, 2012

  • English
  • Arabic

DUBAI // Doug Watson enjoyed a rewarding evening at Meydan Racecourse last night as he saddled the last two winners, headed by Famous Warrior who made all the running under Patrick Dobbs in the featured 1,600m handicap.

Dobbs was able to get across from a middle draw and, once on the rail, always looked in control to the delight of the trainer who said: "The horse loves this Tapeta surface and had been working well so we were very hopeful of a big run. It looked a decent little race and we still hope he is one of our Carnival horses for 2013."

Watson then supplied a stunning 1-2-3 in the concluding 1,900m handicap in which Harry Bentley was aboard winner Profondo Rosso, who stormed clear to be chased home by stable companion Karma Chamelon with Masaalek filling third.

He said: "I was expecting them to run well but you never expect to have the first three. The race was set up perfectly for Profondo Rosso and he won well."

Surfer justified his billing as the best maiden in training when proving far too good for his 13 rivals in the 1,600m maiden. Given a great ride by Richard Mullen, who was able to get a prominent berth despite their wide draw, he quickened away from his field about 400m out to win easily.

Trained by Satish Seemar, he had run some good races in defeat last season and a relieved Mullen said: "It is always a bit of a worry in these races but he did it well. He deserved that after some really good runs last term.

"He will have to go back up in class now at the Carnival."

The champion jockey Tadhg O'Shea was seen at his best when making all on Ganas in the 1,200m handicap before kicking him clear 400m out in what proved a race winning move.

Owned by Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa, Ganas is trained by Ernst Oertel and had been narrowly denied on his local debut at Jebel Ali three weeks ago. O'Shea said: "He has plenty of speed this horse and was a bit unlucky last time as he just tired close home.

"He was very good today and is clearly very versatile regarding underfoot conditions."

Musabah Al Muhairi has his team in great form and James Doyle steered Trojan Nights to a hard fought success for him in the 1,600m handicap.

Trojan Nights finished fast and late with Doyle saying: "They went pretty quick up front so I was happy to take my time as I know he goes well here. He picked up nicely and I always thought I would get there."

Count Paris led 200m out to win a 1,400m handicap with Carlos Sandoval in the saddle for the trainer Abdulla bin Huzaim who said: "Our horses have been running well and we thought he would run a big race. Once they hit the front I was always hopeful we would hold on."

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The team

Photographer: Mateusz Stefanowski at Art Factory 
Videographer: Jear Valasquez 
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Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory 
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With thanks to Jubail Mangrove Park, Jubail Island, Abu Dhabi 

 
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?

1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull

2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight

3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

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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Fourth Arab Economic and Social Development Summit

As he spoke, Mr Aboul Gheit repeatedly referred to the need to tackle issues affecting the welfare of people across the region both in terms of preventing conflict and in pushing development.
Lebanon is scheduled to host the fourth Arab Economic and Social Development Summit in January that will see regional leaders gather to tackle the challenges facing the Middle East. The last such summit was held in 2013. Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki told The National that the Beirut Summit “will be an opportunity for Arab leaders to discuss solely economic and social issues, the conference will not focus on political concerns such as Palestine, Syria or Libya". He added that its slogan will be “the individual is at the heart of development”, adding that it will focus on all elements of human capital.

THE BIO

Ms Al Ameri likes the variety of her job, and the daily environmental challenges she is presented with.

Regular contact with wildlife is the most appealing part of her role at the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi.

She loves to explore new destinations and lives by her motto of being a voice in the world, and not an echo.

She is the youngest of three children, and has a brother and sister.

Her favourite book, Moby Dick by Herman Melville helped inspire her towards a career exploring  the natural world.

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Meydan Racecourse