A man checks a camel's teeth at the Tharb camel hospital in the Qatari desert. Situated almost as far west as it is possible to go in Qatar, the hospital is around an hour's drive and a world away from Doha. Karim Jaafar/AFP
A man checks a camel's teeth at the Tharb camel hospital in the Qatari desert. Situated almost as far west as it is possible to go in Qatar, the hospital is around an hour's drive and a world away froShow more

Qatar's prized racing camels bred for success



DOHA // In the Qatari desert, Musharif spends his afternoons “swimming” in a large pool that doubles as a jacuzzi, just one of the perks of being a racing camel.

“It’s for his muscles, it’s good for the speed,” shouts one of Musharif’s handlers pointing at the water as the calm three-year-old animal is led by a rope along the length of the pool at Tharb camel hospital.

The pool stands next to the hospital, in what looks like a huge agricultural shed with slipways in and out of the water.

The hospital is the only such facility in Qatar.

Situated almost as far west as it is possible to go in Qatar, the hospital is around an hour’s drive and a world away from the capital, Doha.

It is found long after the city’s skyscrapers have vanished from sight and Doha’s sprawling suburbs give way to desert, and only then with some good map-reading skills.

The only clue to its existence are the increasing number of pens filled with resting camels dotted along the dusty highway close to the hospital.

But there is a reason for its remoteness – it is not only a hospital, but also a breeding centre for camels through embryo transfer and artificial insemination and it needs to be isolated to protect its valuable “crops”.

“You want a centre like this to be far enough yet accessible to the potential users,” said Ahmed Tibary, a professor of veterinary medicine and a consultant at Tharb.

“Far enough because [of] the intent of breeding and producing by embryo transfer, you have to have a little bit of isolation.

“Because eventually this is an institution that will house the top-level camels, so if you are developing embryo transfers you want the top racing camels or the top genetics isolated so it’s protected.”

In a region where camel racing is big business, Tharb’s work is increasingly important, and the first camels bred at the centre are already racing in Qatar.

Mr Tibary admitted that research into breeding camels had “lagged behind” similar work with other animals, but no longer.

“I think it’s the future just like we have seen in other species,” he said.

Artificial breeding means owners of camels being sent to stud can command increasingly high prices.

The current big star in the sport is a six-year-old known as Al-Jazeera, who would be “priceless” at stud, say camel owners gathered at the hub for camel racing in Qatar – the Al-Shahaniya track.

“He has more fans than [football’s] Messi,” jokes another.

Professional camel racing started in 1972 in Qatar and the season usually runs from September through to March.

More than 5,000 locals attend and there are some 22,000 camels raced in Qatar and more than 55,000 across the Gulf.

Camels usually start racing around the age of two and generally go into stud at around six years old.

Races are usually held over a distance of four kilometres, though for older animals that can reach a maximum of eight kilometres.

The races themselves are exuberant occasions and not for the faint-hearted.

Qataris, usually in Land Cruisers, thunder alongside the sand track just a few metre or two away from their camels, honking horns and shouting for their animals to run faster.

Mixed in with the owners’ vehicles are fans driving along to get close to the action.

It’s noisy, frenetic and crashes are common.

Sitting on top of the camels are tiny robot jockeys, which can be remotely-controlled to whip the racers.

In Qatar, there are three big races each season, with valuable prizes such as $200,000 Mercedes Maybach cars.

“If you win this competition ... then you will be very famous, your camel will be very famous,” said Qatari camel owner Salem Al Marri.

Eighty per cent of the camels he races are from breeding, Mr Al Marri said: “I’m not lucky in buying, I’m lucky in breeding.”

Like many sports though big rewards have brought problems, in this case doping fears in recent years.

Now, all camels are registered online through an iTunes app, chipped and receive a blood test four days before every race.

Mr Al Marri says it’s not just the big prizes which make the sport popular but also how it connects Qataris with their traditions.

“Camel racing, the camel in general, is very important to the country, especially for the culture,” he said.

* Agence France-Presse

'Panga'

Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari

Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta

Rating: 3.5/5

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
RACE CARD

5pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival Purebred Arabian Cup Conditions (PA); Dh 200,000 (Turf) 1,600m
5.30pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Cup Conditions (PA); Dh 200,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Cup Listed (TB); Dh 380,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Group 3 (PA); Dh 500,000 (T) 1,600m
7pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Jewel Crown Group 1 (PA); Dh 5,000,000 (T) 2,200m
7.30pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival Handicap (PA); Dh 150,000 (T) 1,400m
8pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 100,000 (T); 1,400m

Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

Cryopreservation: A timeline
  1. Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
  2. Ovarian tissue surgically removed
  3. Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
  4. Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
  5. Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
GOODBYE%20JULIA
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohamed%20Kordofani%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiran%20Riak%2C%20Eiman%20Yousif%2C%20Nazar%20Goma%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%205%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2017 Lotus Evora Sport 410

Price, base / as tested Dh395,000 / Dh420,000

Engine 3.5L V6

Transmission Six-speed manual

Power 410hp @ 7,000rpm

Torque 420Nm @ 3,500rpm

Fuel economy, combined 9.7L / 100km

FIXTURES

All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT)

Tuesday
Mairobr v Liverpool
Spartak Moscow v Sevilla
Feyenoord v Shakhtar Donetsk
Manchester City v Napoli
Monaco v Besiktas
RB Leipzig v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Borussia Dortmund
Real Madrid v Tottenham Hotspur

Wednesday
Benfica v Manchester United
CSKA Moscow v Basel
Bayern Munich v Celtic
Anderlecht v Paris Saint-Germain
Qarabag v Atletico Madrid
Chelsea v Roma
Barcelona v Olympiakos
Juventus v Sporting Lisbon

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Milestones on the road to union

1970

October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar. 

December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.

1971

March 1:  Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.

July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.

July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.

August 6:  The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.

August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.

September 3: Qatar becomes independent.

November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.

November 29:  At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.

November 30: Despite  a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa. 

November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties

December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.

December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.

The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5