83 camels qualify for HM Cup festival in March

As many as 83 camels qualified for His Majesty Cup Festival, and some camels with the best timings were purchased and joined the Royal Camel Corps to compete in the HM Cup events in March.

The General Camel Race competitions concluded on Thursday at Al Fulaij Camel field in Barka, under the auspices of Sayyid Tariq bin Mahmoud bin Ali al Busaidy, Wali of Barka.

The three-day event was supported by the Royal Court Affairs represented by Royal Camel Corps (RCC) and organised by Oman Camel Racing Federation (OCRF), with more than 1,000 camels competing in 75 races for distances of 2,4, 5,6 and 8 kms.

The first day witnessed 25 races dedicated to the ‘Hagayeg’ category for 4 km. There were 16 races on the second day for the ‘Laqaya’ category for 5 km, in addition to two races with human riders for 2 km. The third day witnessed 7 rounds for ‘Al Ythaa’ category for 6 km, three races for ‘Al Thanaya’ category for 8 km and the race concluded with ‘Al Hawl’ category for 8 km.

‘Fanad’ owned by RCC won the opening race on the third day, under the trainer Hamad bin Salim al Jadeili. ‘Al Asemah’ claimed the second race, owned by Saud bin Ali al Jabri. ‘Khaterah’ won the third race, owned by Hamid bin Mohammed al Junaibi. ‘Shomok’ claimed the honour of the fourth race, owned by Badr bin Tuwairsh al Wahaibi. ‘Hafafah’ was the champion in the fifth race, owned by Said bin Rashid al Shibli. ‘Mukhlab’ came first in the sixth race, owned by Ali bin Sultan al Ghailani. ‘Hamlool’, owned by Jamil bin Abdullah al Saeedi, bagged the seventh and last race of the category.

In ‘Thanayaa’ category for 8 km, ‘Al Maha’ owned by RCC won the dagger, trained by Hamad bin Salem al Jadili. ‘Aleya’ finished first in the second race, owned by Hamid bin Mohammed al Junaibi. ‘Al Kharoof’ snatched the third race, owned by Awad bin Ali Al Balushi.

In the ‘Al Hawl’ category for 8 km, ‘Rahiya’ owned by RCC and trained by Hamad bin Salem al Jadaili, claimed the dagger. The second race was won by ‘Muttrah’, owned by Ahmed bin Mohammed al Jahafi. The third race was grabbed by ‘Al Nayfa’, owned by Ali bin Rashid al Amri. ‘Mashal’, owned by Kharibish bin Mohammed al Wahaibi claimed the fourth and final honours of the general race.