Al Shahania: Doha's Oasis Dream

An hour away from the shimmering steel-and-glass high-rise cityscape of downtown Doha, through suburbs peppered with construction sites and roadworks, emerges an equine oasis in the desert. Al Shahania Stud sits on seven wells, providing a natural irrigation system for the 50 acres of land which are home to some 200 horses. In the racing world it is an unusual facility in that its air conditioned breeding barns and paddocks, which are occupied by 80 broodmares and seven stallions, sit alongside the training yard and 2,000-metre natural sand track used by Al Shahania's private trainer, Julian Smart.

This is the immaculate headquarters of the equine empire of Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Thani, the uncle of the Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, whose brother Sheikh Joaan and cousin Sheikh Fahad run pretty impressive racing and breeding operations of their own under the Al Shaqab and Qatar Racing banners. In 2011, Sheikh Mohammed extended his operation into Europe and Thoroughbred breeding with the purchase of the Normandy-based Haras des Cruchettes, which is overseen by his French representative Bertrand Le Metayer.

The sheikh's blue-and-white-starred silks have become more familiar in the Thoroughbred world in recent years, most notably through such colour-bearers as G1 St James's Palace S. runner-up Hermival (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and G1 Cheveley Park S. winner Vorda (Fr) (Orpen), but they are famed within Arab racing circles, his 45-strong stable with Smart helping to put him in second position in the Qatari owners' table with 20 wins this season, just one shy of his brother Sheikh Abdullah's Umm Qarn operation.

It may be the final of the Qatar Open women's tennis championships this Saturday but for the local racing world, the major sporting event is the HH The Emir's Sword, a 2,400-metre Group 1 race for purebred Arabians run as the finale to three days of racing at Al Rayyan on the outskirts of Doha. The importance of the race is clear from just a brief glance at the Al Shahania Stud brochure. On the inside cover, Sheikh Mohammed is pictured holding aloft the Emir's Sword trophy, just one of 10 he has won over the years, starting with Djendel in 1991 and most recently with Assy in 2014.

The latter, a homebred 7-year-old son of the legendary Amer, whose prevalence in Arabian racing bloodlines would be similar to that of Northern Dancer, is bidding to reclaim his title after a two-year lay-off from racing. He is one of three runners for his breeder and the British-born Smart, who is now in his seventh season training in Qatar.

Further evidence of the influence of the Emir's Sword is gained from a wander through the Al Shahania stallion barn: no fewer than five of the stud's resident sires are past winners of the race, including the one-eyed globe-trotter Aziz ASF, another son of Amer whose ten victories include the G1 Zabeel International S. in the UK.

The keenness of the Qataris to diminish the us-and-them divide between Thoroughbred and Arab racing is demonstrated in the major Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC) sponsorship of the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe meeting, which now stages the world's richest Arab race–the €1 million Qatar Arabian World Cup–alongside arguably the world's most prestigious mile-and-a-half race for Thoroughbreds. At last year's HH The Emir's Sword Festival, another major Group 1 race for Arabs in Europe was announced, which saw the inaugural running of the £400,000 Qatar Harwood International S. at Goodwood in August 2015. With it came the launch of the Qatar Arabian Triple Crown, which starts in England and moves on to France before culminating in Qatar with the Emir's Sword, where a bonus of $1 million is on offer for a horse who can claim all three stages of the unique world series.

The two sectors of the racing world share equal billing during QREC's major meeting at Al Rayyan, with the major Thoroughbred race of the three days, the HH The Emir's Trophy, a domestic Group 1 contest, attracting an international cast and sponsorship by Longines. Of the 15 declared runners, six are trained outside Qatar, with Richard Hannon, David O'Meara and Brian Meehan fielding Tashaar (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), Afonso De Sousa (Henrythenavigator) and Agent Murphy (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}) from Britain, while South Africa's Mike de Kock and Germany's Mario Hofer once again lock horns via their representatives Tannaaf (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}) and Rogue Runner (Ger) (King's Best), who were split only by pixels in a photo finish for the Qatar Derby in December. Completing the international line-up is the Moroccan-bred Billabong (Mor), who is trained in Chantilly by Pascal Bary but is the pride and joy of his owner-breeder Sharif El Alami.

One of the many visitors to Al Shahania for a tour of the stud and breakfast al fresco alongside camels, hawks and salukis, El Alami commented, “It's really exciting to be here and to be among the first international horses to run here in Qatar.”

Billabong, a 7-year-old son of the Monsun (Ger) stallion Gentlewave (Ire), was bred at the El Alami family's Jalobey Stud in Souissi Rabat, just a little way along the Moroccan coast from Casablanca. With 150 acres, 40 broodmares and 10 stallions– including the former Al Shahania-owned Hermival, 1998 Arc winner Sagamix (Fr) and recent French recruit Naaqoos (GB)–it is the country's most significant privately-owned stud.

With Qatar's dominant champion trainer Jassim Al Ghazali a frequent visitor to the horses-in-training sales in Britain and Ireland, there will be plenty of familiar names on the racecard for visitors from those countries over the next few days but among the horses to have been shipped in specially for the occasion is recent Lingfield listed winner Rivellino (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}). He will become the first runner in Qatar for his owners Colin and Melba Bryce of Laundry Cottage Stud and for trainer Karl Burke when he takes his place in Saturday's At The Races-sponsored Katara Sprint Cup.

“We'd been thinking about going to Dubai with him this winter but it looked like the only options for him there would be on the dirt, which we didn't think would suit him,” said Colin Bryce, whose daughter Gina Harding is also in Qatar as a raceday presenter along with fellow Brit Nick Luck. “Then he won the Cleves S. at Lingfield which qualified him to come here so we thought, 'why not give it a go?' The prize-money is good and it's a privilege to be here. The horse arrived on Monday and he appears to have taken the traveling really well.”

Rivellino will face the 2014 G2 Norfolk S. winner Baitha Alga (Ire) (Fast Company {Ire}), who is still owned by Al Shaqab but is now under the tutelage of Al Ghazali, in the 16-runner field. Among the other international visitors is Chelsea Thoroughbreds' Tony Curtis (GB) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}), who is having a slightly unusual prep for the classics. Winner of the listed EBF Stonehenge S. at Salisbury last season, the 3-year-old has accompanied Tashaar and Moheet (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}) from Richard Hannon's stable and is set to run in Saturday's G2 Al Biddah Mile.