A VISIT to Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Thani’s Al Shahania Stud proved to be one of the off-track highlights of the week for many visitors to Qatar. Trainer Julian Smart is based at the farm where he maintains a current racing string of about 40 horses.

This state of the art farm has its own racetrack, a new swimming pool indoors and many other top rate facilities. The stud has raced 10 Emir’s Sword winners and half of these were bred by Al Shahania. In 2014 they won with Assy, the first Qatar-bred winner of the race. Smart says of the popular runner: “He’s a character. All the good ones have character.”