Dubai racing camel Waslawi selects Croatia to beat Brazil in the World Cup opener at Emirati Matar Al Jabri's camel farm in Dubai. Sarah Dea / The National / June 8, 2014
Dubai racing camel Waslawi selects Croatia to beat Brazil in the World Cup opener at Emirati Matar Al Jabri's camel farm in Dubai. Sarah Dea / The National / June 8, 2014

Dubai camels stick necks out with World Cup predictions



DUBAI // The opening night party at the World Cup in Brazil could fall flat if a pair of camels in Dubai are to be believed.

The racing camels from Marmoum reckon Croatia’s unfancied national team are going to cause an upset in the first match by beating the host nation.

Whether Waslawi and Shaheen are correct remains to be seen but they face a tough task if they are going to reprise the feats of Paul the Octopus, the now deceased sea mollusc that was accurate in its predictions at the last World Cup.

But the Marmoum oracles’ instincts have at least come under the influence of a football-obsessed owner.

Matar Al Jabri is known as “The Yellow Man” among the country’s camel racing community, as he is always decked out in the colour of his favourite football team, Al Wasl.

For the past 20 years, he has worn yellow kanduras, while his four-wheel drive, Ray-Bans and sandals are the same colour. He even has an Al Wasl duvet cover on the bed in his room at his camel farm.

Ironically, given their sheds are painted yellow, as is the farmyard, the camels opted for the flags with no yellow on them when tasked with predicting the outcome of the two big opening games.

Waslawi plumped for Croatia against the famously yellow-shirted Brazil, while Shaheen predicted the Netherlands would beat the defending champions Spain.

Al Jabri said it is unlikely their love for Al Wasl – and all things yellow – is as acute as his.

“They are camels, not humans,” he said. “Camels don’t understand football. It’s an animal, not a person.”

He is also sceptical that the method of eating mushed dried dates from next to a set of national flags will lead to a talent in predicting football matches.

He said that knowing the future is not the right of man or beast, stressing that it “is for God only”.

The camels picked the results of four group stage games.

Al Jabri keeps a small and elite herd of camels. The best of them bear names related to football, although he sold one named Penalty earlier this season because, “he was not No 1, no chance”.

His prize camel is Musaihan, a six-year-old champion of the season finals at Dubai’s Marmoum track last month, who also goes by the name of Waslawi.

Shaheen is a five year old who has yet to prove a star of the track and carries the common name of his pedigree.

If he develops champion qualities, he will be renamed – perhaps even after World Cup legend and former Al Wasl manager Diego Maradona.

“The camels named after football should only be the best,” said Al Jabri. “Only the good ones.

“I know Maradona. If I wanted to name my camel after him, I would have to call and ask him first.”

Predictions in full

June 12 – Croatia to beat Brazil

June 13 – Netherlands to beat Spain

June 16 – Portugal to beat Germany

June 19 – England to draw with Uruguay

sports@thenational.ae

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Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe

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Al Mrzab Restaurant

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For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup. 

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Power: 181hp

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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

2020 Oscars winners: in numbers
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  • 1917– 3
  • Ford v Ferrari – 2
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  • Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood – 2
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

Three tips from La Perle's performers

1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.

2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.

3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.

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LIKELY TEAMS

South Africa
Faf du Plessis (captain), Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Quinton de Kock (wkt), Vernon Philander, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel, Lungi Ngidi.

India (from)
Virat Kohli (captain), Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wkt), Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.

MATCH INFO

Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')

Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)

ODI FIXTURE SCHEDULE

First ODI, October 22
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Second ODI, October 25
Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune

Third ODI, October 29
Venue TBC

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

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Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

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Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

THE BIO

Favourite car: Koenigsegg Agera RS or Renault Trezor concept car.

Favourite book: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes or Red Notice by Bill Browder.

Biggest inspiration: My husband Nik. He really got me through a lot with his positivity.

Favourite holiday destination: Being at home in Australia, as I travel all over the world for work. It’s great to just hang out with my husband and family.

 

 

Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

RESULTS

6.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82.500 (Dirt) 1,400m

Winner Meshakel, Royston Ffrench (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)

7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m

Winner Gervais, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.

7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (Turf) 2,410m

Winner Global Heat, Pat Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.

8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,900m

Winner Firnas, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.

8.50pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (D) 1,600m

Winner Rebel’s Romance, William Buick, Charlie Appleby

9.25pm Dubai Trophy (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (T) 1,200m

Winner Topper Bill, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar

10pm Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,400m

Winner Wasim, Mickael Barzalona, Ismail Mohammed.

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