Dubai Ruler dances with joy after Thunder Snow wins Dubai World Cup

Khaleej Times
April 1, 2018

Dubai may have been hot and humid over the past week but thunder and snow rained on the city on Saturday night.

And the royal blue silks, the colours of Godolphin, hung over the spectacular Meydan Racecourse as Thunder Snow won the 23rd renewal of the $10 million Dubai World Cup.

The four-year-old bay colt from Helmet, the mount of Christophe Soumillon, ended Emirati handler Saeed bin Suroor's two-year drought, in sensational style, winning the 10-furlong affair by a comprehensive five-and-three-quarter of a length over strong favourite, the USA's West Coast.

Thunder Snow aced the five-horse American challenge to win in record time, putting Arrogate's 2:02:53 seconds to shade with a time of 2:01:38 seconds.

It was Thunder Snow's seventh win in 18 starts but the biggest Group 1 victory of his fledging career. The win also increased Saeed bin Suroor's tally to an astonishing record eight at the Dubai World Cup, the most by any trainer.

Thunder Snow's victory also brought up Suroor's 38th win after Benbatl had triumphed in the Dubai Turf earlier on the night.

And while Thunder Snow, Godolphin and Saeed bin Suroor all racked up the numbers, it was a life-long dream becoming a reality for Christophe Soumillon.

The Belgian jockey notched his first Dubai World Cup in nine attempts. The 36-year-old's best result was the runner-up finish to California Chrome, on board Mubtaahij.

Thunder Snow was drawn on an unfavourable Gate 10, right on the outside, but that didn't deter him as it was to be his night.

Thunder Snow was out of the gates in a blink of an eye and with North America, his UAE rival, with whom he tussled in the Al Maktoum Challenge, missing the start, it made it all the more easier. But it was just one contender down and many more to go as the Americans lurked. Thunder Snow still had a job to do and he did it in some style.

He kept West Coast, with whom he had exchanged the lead briefly at the start, at bay over the course of the 2000-metre contest. And Thunder Snow then went on to deny American legendary trainer Bob Baffert a second win on the trot and a fourth at the World Cup.

"We won two years in a row and now we have come back and won it again. It is a great and a brilliant result," an elated Saeed bin Suroor said, moments after the race.

"The jockey did a great job despite being drawn from Gate 10. What he has done, nobody has done. To take Thunder Snow from the Gate 10 and to take him to a position from where he can win is superb," added the Emirati, whose last win came with Prince Bishop, ridden by William Buick.

Meanwhile, Soumillon revealed that a pre-race pep talk helped him win. "I don't know if it was Sheikh Mohammed's daughter, a little girl, she told me: 'It is small track and if you go in front then, you are going to win it.' I never thought I can do that running with that draw. He jumped quite well and I saw nobody trying to challenge me and then West Coast let me go. And when I arrived at the first corner, my horse was in front and, on the back straight, I was just cantering. He is a very funny horse and very talented but when he doesn't want to do, he doesn't and when he wants, it is just amazing. He was in great shape and pretty fit. He has shown that in Europe and last year in Kentucky.

"It is difficult to say how I'm feeling because it has not sunk in. I had finished second one time but winning this was like a dream come true," said Soumillon.

SOUMILLON'S FIRST
2010: 11 on Red Desire (Mikio Matsunaga), won by Gloria De Campeo

2011: 7 on Musir (Mike de Kock), won by Victoire Pisa

2012: 8 on Master Of Hounds (Mike de Kock), won by Monterosso

2013: 8 on Treasure Beach (Mike de Kock), won by Animal Kingdom

2014: 7 on Sanshaawes (Mike de Kock), won by African Story

2015: 9 on Epiphaneia (Katsuhiko Sumii), won by Prince Bishop

2016: 2 on Mubtaahij (Mike de Kock), won by California Chrome

2017: 4 on Mubtaahij (Mike de Kock), won by Arrogate

2018: Winner on Thunder Snow (Saeed bin Suroor)

Comments

angel of death
 - 
Monday, 2 Apr 2018

Allah given Power to these ARAB scumbags for the upliftment of muslim world but they dance as per western tune. 

 

 

 

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News Network
May 21,2020

London, May 21: Working mothers in Europe and the United States are taking on most of the extra housework and childcare created by lockdown - and many are struggling to cope, a survey showed on Thursday.

Women with children now spend an average 65 hours a week on the unpaid chores - nearly a third more than fathers - according to the Boston Consulting Group, which questioned parents in five countries.

"Women have been doing too much household work for too long, and this crisis is pushing them to a point that's simply unsustainable," Rachel Thomas, of U.S.-based women's rights group LeanIn.Org, said in response to the data.

"We need a major culture shift in our homes and in our companies ... We should use this moment to build a better way to work and live – one that's fair for everybody."

Researchers say fallout from the pandemic weighs on women in a host of ways, be it in rising domestic violence or in lower wages, as some women cut paid work to take on the new duties.

With lockdowns shutting schools and keeping citizens at home, creating a mountain of domestic work, public campaigns from Georgia to Mexico have urged men to do their fair share.

But women, who on average already do more at home than men, are now shouldering most of the new coronavirus burden, too, said the survey of more than 3,000 working parents in the United States, Britain, Italy, Germany and France.

Women's unpaid hours at home have nearly doubled to 65 hours a week, said the survey, against 50 logged by an average father.

British women are more likely to support others in the COVID-19 pandemic and are finding it harder to stay positive, according to separate analysis released this week by polling firm Ipsos MORI and feminist organisation The Fawcett Society.

It is "no surprise" to see women do more childcare and housekeeping on top of their day jobs, Jacqui Hunt of women's rights group Equality Now, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

However, there are "hopeful signs" that men in West Africa are sharing more childcare during the pandemic in a shift in social norms, found a small rapid analysis by humanitarian organisation CARE International released on Wednesday.

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News Network
May 22,2020

May 22: A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight on its way from Lahore to Karachi, crashed in the area near Jinnah International Airport on Friday, according to Civil Aviation Authority officials.

Geo News reported that the plane crashed at the Jinnah Ground area near the airport as it was approaching for landing. There were more than 90 passengers on board the Airbus aircraft. Black smoke could be seen from afar at the crash site, say eye witnesses.

There were no immediate reports on the number of casualties. The aircraft arriving from the eastern city of Lahore was carrying 99 passengers and 8 crew members, news agency AP said, quoting Abdul Sattar Kokhar, spokesman for the country’s civil aviation authority.

Witnesses said the Airbus A320 appeared to attempt to land two or three times before crashing in a residential area near Jinnah International Airport.

Flight PK-303 from Lahore was about to land in Karachi when it crashed at the Jinnah Garden area near Model Colony in Malir, just a minute before its landing, Geo News reported.

Local television reports showed smoke coming from the direction of the airport. Ambulances were on their way to the airport.

News agency said Sindh’s Ministry of Health and Population Welfare has declared emergency in all major hospitals of Karachi due to the plane crash.

It’s the second plane crash for Pakistani carrier in less than four years. The airline’s chairman resigned in late 2016, less than a week after the crash of an ATR-42 aircraft killed 47 people. The incident comes as Pakistan was slowly resuming domestic flights in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Bloomberg reported.

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News Network
January 1,2020

New Delhi, Jan 1: Newly-appointed Chief of the Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat on Wednesday said the armed forces stay away from politics and work as per the directives of the government of the day, remarks that come amid allegations that the forces were being politicised.

Gen Rawat also said that his focus as CDS will be to integrate the efforts of the three services and to work as a team.

"We keep ourselves away from politics. We act according to the directives of the government of the day," he said.

Gen Rawat said his focus will be to ensure best and optimal use of resources allocated to the three services.

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