FEW overseas racing trips have produced a story like the one I encountered, personally, on Saturday last when planning to get to the races early for the most important day in Qatar, the running of the US$1 million The Emir’s Trophy for thoroughbreds and the similar valued The Emir’s Sword for Purebred Arabians. Both races this year were won by horses who had captured the prizes previously.

On Saturday morning I left the hotel and was fortunate to do so at the same time as the great German trainer Andreas Wöhler. We shared an official car to the racecourse, Al Rayyan – or so we thought! Having never met him before, I took the opportunity to chat and soon we were lost in conversation.

The racecourse should have been a 20-minute drive at that time of day but, as they say, time flies when you are enjoying yourself. Andreas, a calm man, suddenly interrupted me in full flow, and pointed out that we had actually left the city and were heading into the desert.

“KSA? Does that mean the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia?” he asked. “Yes,” I replied. “Well, we are heading there are it is just 74 kilometres away,” he calmly retorted.

DIRECTIONS

Yes, we were going as far away from the racecourse as you could imagine, with a driver who was attempting to use his mobile telephone for directions. The problem was exacerbated by the vast amount of road building going on, the World Cup in 2022 fuelling huge amounts of construction, and Google maps could not quite find a way out for us.

Happily, we finally arrived at the racecourse 90 minutes after leaving the hotel, unruffled and having managed to see the funny side to things. Andreas was a complete gentleman about it, and I was only sorry that his Noor Al Hawa failed to land the day’s thoroughbred feature after being given the worst possible draw.

Visitors from all around the world gathered again this year for this festival of racing, and we were again hosted most graciously by the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club. During the weekend, and in the same complex as the racecourse, The HH Emir’s Sword Championship for 2018 was held, featuring show jumping and dressage.

Overseeing all of the weekend’s arrangements was the unflappable Patricia de Mieulle-Musial, the head of their International Affairs Unit.

As part of the itinerary for the visitors she arranged a visit to her husband’s training centre at Umm Qarn. Here horses, with an emphasis on the Purebred Arabian, are housed in luxury, with an air-conditioned barn ensuring that even when the temperature outside reaches 50 degrees (!), the horses are in a cool 20.

A welcome dinner at the Souk Waqif, a terrifyingly enjoyable Desert Safari Tour and a memorable double with victories for Ireland and Scotland in the aptly named Champions Bar were other highlights of a trip, which sadly ended with a return to Ireland, a bad chest infection and a week in bed. It was a price worth paying.