I will chase that up Dan, and I didn't realise that there were parts of the world that do it as you say. I just know that in Oz, where I was trained, it is a requirement to specify the pattern if not published whether that pattern is at a reporting point or not.
By the way, I have got into the habit here, of saying as part of my hold instruction, "make all turns left", when speaking to the less familiar visitors to the UAE. But I still think the short and sharp phrase, " Confirm Right hand pattern" when given the hold instruction won't upset any controllers, if in doubt in any way.