Bye Bye Dubayy

Only a dozen miles west of where I live, the royal family of the Kingdom of Dubayy - better known as Dubai - bases its European race-horse stud in historic premises at Newmarket, Britain's premier racing center. They call it the Godolphin Stables in homage to Francis Godolphin, the Second Earl of Godolphin, who resided at nearby Cambridge. Shrewdly, the Earl became the owner of a stallion sired in Yemen that had been a gift to Louis XV of France. Known as "Godolphin Arabian", in the mid-18th Century the horse was one of three that sired the modern long-distance racing breed. He was interred in style near the Earl's Cambridge digs.

Architect of Dubai's role in the Sport of Kings is the Gulf state's crown prince, General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. He's also Dubai's deputy ruler, under his father Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and defense minister of the United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai is a member. In the 1980s Sheikh Mohammed, also known as "Sheikh Mo", committed his nation's considerable oil resources to his personal passion, horse racing. Wintering his horses in Dubai and bringing them to Europe for the racing season, Sheikh Mo started to make an impact in the 1990s.