YORK, ENGLAND // Mandaean could not justify his pre-race billing in the Dante Stakes as Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid's Ektihaam flew the flag for the UAE on the Knavesmire yesterday by pushing the eventual winner Bonfire all the way to the line.
Mandaean lined up unbeaten in the most significant trial for next month's English Derby after two runs in France for Andre Fabre, but in his first outing for Mahmoud Al Zarooni he found nothing and trailed in last under Mickael Barzalona.
It leaves Godolphin without a serious runner in next month's Epsom Classic, despite over 20 colts entered. The Dubai-based organisation could, of course, ask Fabre to send to Newmarket Masterstroke, who was second in the Group 2 Prix Hocquart at Longchamp five days ago for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, but it is an almost impossible scenario.
"Nothing happened. Mandaean was simply not good enough," Simon Crisford, the Godolphin racing manager, said. "There was nothing wrong with him."
Joseph O'Brien set a fair pace on Ernest Hemmingway with Barzalona tracking Bonfire. As the field swung into the straight Tadhg O'Shea was in last place on Ektihaam. Barzalona started to rouse his mount with an increasing lack of success as the pair were swamped by Ektihaam and Adam Kirby, aboard Dream Tune, owned by Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa.
Two furlongs from home Ektihaam had reached Bonfire and the pair settled down to break the heart of Fencing, ridden by William Buick.
With a furlong to ride, it looked as if Ektihaam might go past but Bonfire held on to win by three-quarters of a length. Fencing was third, four lengths back, while Dream Tune was fourth.
O'Shea was delighted with the run. "Both the winner and him will turn out to be very smart," the jockey said. "They both have a bright future and hopefully my colt will have his own big day."
Roger Varian, the trainer, suggested that Ektihaam's day would come in the French Derby over 10 furlongs at Chantilly on June 3 as the son of Invincible Spirit is not entered at Epsom, which stages the Derby a day before.
"We're competitors and you're always a bit annoyed when you don't win, but I'm thrilled with how he ran," Varian said.
"He travelled into the race really well and I'm delighted that he's shown he's up to this level.
"He's a horse with the physique to improve through the year.
"I'll speak to the owner before we make any definite plans but it's nice to be going home knowing we've got a really good one on our hands.
"He's not in at Epsom and I think 10 furlongs is as far as he wants at this stage. Just 25 yards from the line the winner was finishing better than we were."
For Bonfire, Epsom awaits and for Andrew Balding, the trainer, it will be his first runner in the colt's Classic.
"We've only got just over a fortnight, but as long as he comes out of this well, we've got to give Epsom serious consideration," he said.
sports@thenational.ae
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Company%20Profile
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UAE WARRIORS RESULTS
Featherweight
Azouz Anwar (EGY) beat Marcelo Pontes (BRA)
TKO round 2
Catchweight 90kg
Moustafa Rashid Nada (KSA) beat Imad Al Howayeck (LEB)
Split points decision
Welterweight
Gimbat Ismailov (RUS) beat Mohammed Al Khatib (JOR)
TKO round 1
Flyweight (women)
Lucie Bertaud (FRA) beat Kelig Pinson (BEL)
Unanimous points decision
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) beat Regelo Enumerables Jr (PHI)
TKO round 1
Catchweight 100kg
Marc Vleiger (NED) beat Mohamed Ali (EGY)
Rear neck choke round 1
Featherweight
James Bishop (NZ) beat Mark Valerio (PHI)
TKO round 2
Welterweight
Abdelghani Saber (EGY) beat Gerson Carvalho (BRA)
TKO round 1
Middleweight
Bakhtiyar Abbasov (AZE) beat Igor Litoshik (BLR)
Unanimous points decision
Bantamweight
Fabio Mello (BRA) beat Mark Alcoba (PHI)
Unanimous points decision
Welterweight
Ahmed Labban (LEB) v Magomedsultan Magomedsultanov (RUS)
TKO round 1
Bantamweight
Trent Girdham (AUS) beat Jayson Margallo (PHI)
TKO round 3
Lightweight
Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) beat Roman Golovinov (UKR)
TKO round 1
Middleweight
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) beat Steve Kennedy (AUS)
Submission round 2
Lightweight
Dan Moret (USA) v Anton Kuivanen (FIN)
TKO round 2
Law%2041.9.4%20of%20men%E2%80%99s%20T20I%20playing%20conditions
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Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Points to remember
- Debate the issue, don't attack the person
- Build the relationship and dialogue by seeking to find common ground
- Express passion for the issue but be aware of when you're losing control or when there's anger. If there is, pause and take some time out.
- Listen actively without interrupting
- Avoid assumptions, seek understanding, ask questions
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Company%20profile
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INDIA'S%20TOP%20INFLUENCERS
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