Connor Beasley on Heros De Lagarde won the Dh8 million Group 1 President’s Cup for Omani trainer Ibrahim Al Hadhrami, who took his biggest career prize at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club on Sunday.
Racing on the near rails for most of the 2,200-metre trip, Beasley worked his way through the horses ahead of him to get the seven-year-old in front at the 200m mark to win from Bernardo Pinheiro on Sunny Du Loup and Ray Dawson atop Bahwan by 2-1/4 and 1-3/4 lengths respectively.
Beasley celebrated by whipping the air even before crossing the line as Heros De Lagarde, in the silks of Oman’s Sheikh Nasser Mohammed Al Hashar, completed his seventh win in 22 starts.
“This horse has been with me as a two year old and has run all his races for me. He has been consistent and winning his fifth race in the last seven starts,” Al Hadhrami said.
“He is such a good horse and tonight he proved that he was the best in a field that drew some of the finest Purebred Arabians from Europe and around this region. He’s also versatile, having won both on turf and dirt, and distances varying from 1,200m to 2,200m.
“He came into this race on the back of a Group 3 success over the 1,600m distance on this track. I thought he would run a good race as compared to a lot of other runners but winning the race was just fantastic.”
James Doyle bagged the thoroughbred equivalent by producing a well-timed run on Make Me King to scoop the Listed Dh1 million prize.
Doyle had a lot of work to do atop the four-year-old Dark Angel gelding as they turned for home.
However, the stable jockey for the Qatar-based Al Wathnan Stables was on a willing partner as he weaved through runners to collar Ben Coen on Marbaan and Laneqash under Jim Crawley close to the finish line.
“He's a high quality horse, he's had a good campaign both in Qatar last season and a good campaign back home in the UK,” Doyle said of the winner.
“He wasn't top rated, he was second top rated. But he came in good form tonight and the team were very confident.”
Doyle was in seventh when turning for home at the 400m pole, yet he managed to get past all those in front to win by three-quarter length.
“There's no better feeling, but you know I wanted to be a bit handier, but the gallop was a bit too strong for me so I was happy to let them get on with it. I just prayed that the gaps opened and they did.”
It was also Doyle’s second President’s Cup winner after he steered the Dhruba Selvaratnam trained Jaasoos way back in 2011.
“That was actually my first Listed winner ever in my career. So, this track has got a place in my heart.”
Results
President’s Cup Listed Dh1,000,000 for thoroughbreds 1,400m
1. Make Me King, James Doyle (jockey), Hamad Al Jehani (trainer)
2. Marbaan, Ben Coen, Michael Costa
3. Laneqash, Jim Crawley, Bhupat Seemar
President’s Cup Group 1 Dh8,000,000 for Purebred Arabians 2,200m
1. Heros De Lagarde, Connor Beasley, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
2. Suny Du Loup, Bernardo Pinheiro, Hamad Al Marar
3. Bahwan, Ray Dawson, Mohammed Al Shamsi
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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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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