Hadha chance, yanni: Bu Rashed’s camel auction advice

Bu Rashed trusts his own camels to the care of Ali Sumar, 45, a handler from Peshawar, Pakistan who has worked in the Emirates for 30 to 35 years. ( Anna Zacharias / The National / September 6 2014 ) Show more

When young camels from the dunes step off a lorry into downtown Abu Dhabi this Friday, Bu Rashed will prepare them for their international debut at the annual camel auction. Bu Rashed is the handler for camels on auction at the Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition.

In Abu Dhabi, this marks the beginning of camel season. Although races do not begin until October, strategy for the season ahead starts now.

Camel lovers, beware. You are about to meet stars of next generation. Given that racers who place in the top ten win generous race prizes, it’s easy to justify a substantial investment. Be warned, life insurance for race camels does not exist . If your camel meets an untimely death, there will be no compensation. Even if your camel lives a long life, there are not guarantees.

Bu Rashed has cared for hundreds of auctioned camels and has one piece of advice for would-be buyers.

“Bas, hadha chance yanni,” says Bu Rashed. “It’s only chance. If you buy 10 camels, maybe only two or three will be true racers.”

Bu Rashed would know. He owns about 70 camels in Al Ain and Sweihan and his calves sell for Dh500,000.

Auctions usually fall into two categories. The are the kind that deal in masterpiece paintings and the kind that deal in damaged goods. The Adihex auction is the Sotherby’s of livestock auctions. It is open to the public and free of charge but make no mistake, those with the privilege of sitting in the bidding section are the elite, sheikhs’ representatives and millionaires. They have lorries parked outside the auction hall, ready to carry new camels to their farms.

Bu Rashed rattles off the names he expects on Friday: Mubarak Al Ameri of Al Ain, Saif bin Qulaib of Dubai, Hamad Mazrouei of Medinat Zayed and others from Qatar and Saudi Arabia. His list goes on.

Bu Rashed knows the best ones when they arrive.

It is said that eyes are the window to the soul. This is not quite true with camels.

It’s all in the nose, he says. Not too big and not too small. The nose and a good, broad chest.

He insists that bidders do not inflate prices or compete. “Because if the bidding stops, you’re stuck with the camel.”

I am skeptical about this. The world of camel pageants is full of price manipulation and false bids. It seems unlikely that race camel owners have a completely different code of ethics.

“But generally, looks don’t matter?” Bu Rashed was asked earlier this week.

“Of course looks matter,” he said. “A racer should look good. Why shouldn’t a racer look good? Why shouldn’t it matter?”

The Adihex camel auction is 7.30pm on Friday, Sep12 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.

For more information on the history of the Adihex camel auction, you can read this story about where and how the next generation of racing camels are bred at the Advanced Scientific Group Veterinary Research Centre in Sweihan.