ROYAL ASCOT // These are the early stanzas of Godolphin's long journey back to the top but Thursday's third day at Ascot showed just how hard that road will be.
Even when the Dubai-based organization are doing everything right they still get overshadowed by Coolmore.
Godolphin added to their treble here on Wednesday with Charlie Appleby's impressive Hawkbill in the Group 3 Tercentenary Stakes, but moments later the limelight was stolen completely by Godolphin's Irish rivals.
Aidan O’Brien brought up his 50th Royal Ascot winner with Even Song in the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes, and then produced the dazzling Order Of St George to crush his Gold Cup rivals.
The victory took Ryan Moore to three wins for the week in addition to his win on Even Song and he sits alongside Frankie Dettori at the top of the standings.
Order Of St George was the highest-rated horse in Ireland prior to the Gold Cup but by the way he went three lengths clear of Henry II Stakes winner Mizzou with Meydan regular Sheikhzayedroad just over two lengths further back showed he can mix it with the best in the world.
More Geoffrey Riddle from Royal Ascot
Related: 'Start of a good run' at Royal Ascot as Godolphin's Ribchester, Usherette and Portage are victorious
Read also: Tepin powers past Belardo to confirm her superstar status in Queen Anne Stakes win at Royal Ascot
Quite over what distance, however, remains to be seen. The Gold Cup is one of the most punishing races in the British calendar at 4,000 metres, and O’Brien suggested afterwards that Order Of St George would be given a break before he was trained for the Irish St Leger at the Currgah in September.
As ever, O’Brien did not rule out a tilt at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Chantilly in October, nor a defence of his Gold Cup title in 12 months’ time.
“He is just a big Rolls Royce engine,” O’Brien purred. “If he wasn’t going to stay none of the horses were going to.”
It was O’Brien’s seventh success in the Gold Cup, and with 50 winners he stands shy only of Sir Michael Stoute’s 73 of any trainer currently with a licence. O’Brien is naturally too humble to have taken much credit for this latest milestone, but Order Of St George’s part-owner Michael Tabor was on hand to put the garland around his neck.
“I think all of the superlatives have been said about Aidan,” Tabor said. “This win has just endorsed what everybody knows and says – he is one of the greats.”
Godolphin have showed this week that the seeds of recovery are taking strong root and Hawkbill looks a horse worthy of a Group 1 entry.
Godolphin ran three horses in the Group 3 contest with William Buick on Hawkbill and James Doyle on Saeed bin Suroor’s Prize Money, who also looks worthy of stepping up in grade. Martin Lane was given the job of setting the pace, which played perfectly in to Hawkbill’s skill set.
It was Charlie Appleby’s second Royal Ascot winner after last season’s Space Age. “I’m delighted to finally get a winner on the board,” Appleby said. “As they say, you come down here to put some manners on you and I’ve had two days of that.”
The Group 1 Coronation Cup and Commonwealth Cup take centre stage on Friday but all eyes will also be trained on Queen Kindly, who takes her chance in the Albany Stakes.
Queen Kindly, who is owned by Dubai-based businessman Jaber Abdullah, became the first filly sired by Frankel to win this month and will be the great racehorse’s first runner at Royal Ascot.
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
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Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
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How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Company profile
Name: Back to Games and Boardgame Space
Started: Back to Games (2015); Boardgame Space (Mark Azzam became co-founder in 2017)
Founder: Back to Games (Mr Azzam); Boardgame Space (Mr Azzam and Feras Al Bastaki)
Based: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Industry: Back to Games (retail); Boardgame Space (wholesale and distribution)
Funding: Back to Games: self-funded by Mr Azzam with Dh1.3 million; Mr Azzam invested Dh250,000 in Boardgame Space
Growth: Back to Games: from 300 products in 2015 to 7,000 in 2019; Boardgame Space: from 34 games in 2017 to 3,500 in 2019
