Not playing the numbers game

ABU DHABI // Doug Watson has for the time-being shelved his thoughts of his trainer's title defence as he goes for quality more than quantity in the new season. His prime target is a raid on the Dubai Carnival. The Red Stables trainer has 80 horses in training with another 20 set to arrive in time for the carnival for his principal owners Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Malih al Basti.

"We had some good horses last season and winning the trainer's title was the result of an excellent team effort," said the American. "The team worked hard all the year round and this title is a testament to the people that work at the stables. I'm so happy for them. "This time, we are going for quality more than quantity, particularly a stable like us, one of the bigger yards. The trainer's title may come later on and if it does, then it will be another plus for the excellent team we have in place here."

Barbecue Eddie, fourth in the Golden Shaheen sprint on the Dubai World Cup night, is one of the high-profile names that have come under his care after being privately purchased from Sheikh Hamdan. Masaalak is another of Sheikh Hamdan's horses to cross over from Marcus Tregoning's yard in the UK, and with some purchases from Basti that include Shopton Lane and Weald, and another American sprinter Force Freeze for Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi.

Watson will also have the services of Fernando Jara, the Dubai World Cup and Breeder's Cup winning jockey on Sheikh Hamdan owned Invasor. "Fernando has had some misfortune after a shoulder injury and probably needs a change of luck. "He will be a useful addition with Sheikh Hamdan's retained jockey Richard Hills, along with Daragh O'Donohoe and Gaven Birrer, both of whom have ridden a lot for the stables."

Watson was off the mark on Thursday's opening race meeting when O'Donohoe making every yard of the running on Lucky Ray to claim the final race on the Nad Al Sheba card. "It's always a nice feeling to get off the mark on the opening night and we have some nice older horses to carry on our campaign in the domestic season. But the first thing in my mind is to keep the horses sound and perform a little better in the carnival."

The Purebred Arabians are the same as last season with Paris Gagner, Kandar Du Falgas, Al Jalfane and Nirwan aimed at the Pattern races. Watson didn't want to disclose the top 10 horses to follow. He said, "At this point of time it is hard to say with 20 more horses still to arrive. Most of them have been in training from wherever they are and they'll be ready to run no sooner they are here." Some of them the trainer mentioned are Mutamarres, Mutasallil, Force Freeze, Barbecue Eddie, Masaalak, Tajdeer, Shopton Lane and Dynamic Saint.

Watson arrived in Dubai 14 years ago to work with Satish Seemar, who had not long embarked on his training career at Zabeel Stables. He moved on to become assistant trainer to fellow American Kiaran McLaughlin over at Red Stables. And awarded the licence in 2003 and won the first of his two trainer's titles three years later. apassela@thenational.ae

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Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul

Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader

Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet

Favorite food: seafood

Favorite place to travel: Lebanon

Favorite movie: Braveheart

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Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction

Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.

Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.

Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.

Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.

Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.

What are the guidelines?

Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.

Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.

Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.

Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.

Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.

Source: American Paediatric Association

A State of Passion

Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi

Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah

Rating: 4/5

Analysis

Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more

What is graphene?

Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.

It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.

Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.

By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.

At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.

It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.

But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.

In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.

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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