Charles Barnett is the chief executive of Ascot Racecourse in the UK, which hosts Royal Ascot, one of the most prestigious and flamboyant horse race meetings in the world. He lives in the UK.
We're here exhibiting at the Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition. Because there has been such tremendous support for racing in the UK from here in the Emirates, it's important that we recognise that and that we're seen to be supporting plans they have here. It also gives us an opportunity to enhance our relationship. We're looking for partners who want to ally their brand to us and this is the part of the world where people might be interested in doing that.
I was last here about 35 years ago. I used to work in shipping and insurance and was here quite a lot. We had a lot of trouble before the ports here were operating properly, so most things were coming over land. I was often sent off to see what had happened to it all, and I went to Tehran, then flew back and went from Qatar to Jeddah, sleeping out in the desert; it was a lot of fun.
It is extremely interesting what's happening with the development of racing here. It's a shame that Godolphin (Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid's stable) didn't have a great last season in the UK, but the quality here is improving all the time. A lot of people come here now for the racing, in the same way they come to the UK.
I haven't actually because I used to work at Aintree, so with the Grand National happening around the same time, it was difficult.
It's going to be extraordinary, and to have a race track of that quality is going to have an important influence on worldwide racing.
We solved the problem of viewing and we've begun to get a handle on how the grandstand works, which is quite difficult. And also people were used to the way it was, so that takes a few years for them to acclimatise. They're starting to find their way about now, though. Luckily we had lovely weather this year and the racing was unbelievable, as it always is.
Absolutely. A lot of people go to Royal Ascot for the pageantry and the social aspect - and the racing it ancillary. Equally, a lot of people go for the racing. We get fantastic support from the royal family; the queen is very interested in racing and lots of the royal family like to come.
It's very important. The queen loves coming, particularly to the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes in July, which is named after her parents. There is a lot of international interest in our queen and we have more international visitors to Royal Ascot that any other meeting in the UK.
We've got big debts. We spent £220 million (Dh1,379 million) on the refurbishment so we have to pay that back. We've got some big things happening in 2011, which will be our 300th anniversary, as well as the queen's diamond jubilee. Then in 2012, we'll be hosting an event right before the Olympic games in London.
If you're looking at who's been the most influential over the last ten years, you've got to say the Dubai ruling family. As well as being heavily involved themselves, they've introduced a lot of other people from the Middle East. They have fantastic studs where they breed amazing horses and they've developed the international movement of horses in a way that probably wouldn't have happened without them.
I think Johnny Murtagh is an extremely good jockey but Frankie Dettori's connection with Ascot is incredible. In 1996, he rode every winner on a seven-race card at Ascot and he's a great supporter. So you'd have to say he's pretty important to flat racing in the UK.
PROFILE BOX
Company name: Overwrite.ai
Founder: Ayman Alashkar
Started: Established in 2020
Based: Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai
Sector: PropTech
Initial investment: Self-funded by founder
Funding stage: Seed funding, in talks with angel investors
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
