A Royal victory, and locally trained camels performing well were the features of day three of the Al Bashayer Camel Racing Festival on Wednesday. None was more popular than that prepared by the Al Bashayer-based handler Abdullah bin Tawarish al Wahibi, whose Al Dabi, owned by His Highness Sayyid Asaad bin Tarik al Said, triumphed in the first of the afternoon rounds.
Al Dabi is one of more than 30 prepared by the trainer, and this victory follows a recent win in Al Fleej, in Al Batinah, though he had also raced well in the UAE.
“The expectations were high for this race,” Al Wahibi told Ahmed al Junaibi, “and his preparation has been very much aimed at this festival, and I would dedicate the win to His Highness, and thank him for his support.”
He added that, “Al Dabi’s future racing will be focused on the bigger races and bigger events across the GCC region, but first comes the Golden Sword Final, and we now have a lot of confidence in our chances.”
It seemed all the fans were cheering for the first win of the festival for the Al Bashayer Corps on their home track, and to see a Royal family victory. The popular local trainer ‘doubled up’ in the fourth round, when Salalah also won, albeit in a slower time.
“We also have other starters across the last two days of the festival, so it is an exciting time,” said the trainer. Certainly, it seems the excitement level has stepped up a notch, and the local performances. Racing on Wednesday featured the Four-Year-Olds in the last of the juvenile/restricted age racedays of the festival, as Thursday features the ‘war horses’ of regional camel racing, the Five-Year-Olds and over.
Al Bashayer Camel Racing Festival
Day Three Results
Four-Year-Olds
Morning Round
Round 1: Al Shahinya, Owner: Adnan bin Suliman al Rashdi, Time: 9:37 min
Round 2: Mauwd, Owner: Hamed bin Mubarak al Amri, Time: 9:41 min
Round 3: Seham, Owner: Abdullah bin Gadheer al Wahibi, Time: 9:37 min
Round 4: El Nader, Owner: Suliman bin Said al Malki, Time: 9:40 min
Round 5: Al Shahinia, Owner: Hamed bin Ali al Hedawii, Time: 9:51 min
Round 6: Hams, Owner: Bader bin Khalifa al Nassri, Time: 9:39 min
Round 7: Mauwd, Owner: Mohammed bin Ali al Darei, Time: 9:38 min
Four-Year-Olds
Afternoon Round
Round 1: Al Dabi, Trainer: Abdullah bin Tawarish al Wahibi, Time: 9:07
Round 2: Mahba, Trainer: Faraj bin Mohammed al Dahari, Time: 9:27
Round 3: Tawaiq, Trainer: Mosa bin Abdulaziz al Mosa, Time: 9:20
Round 4: Salalah, Trainer: Abdullah bin Tawarish al Wahibi, Time: 9:26
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