Frankie Dettori did his famous flying dismount; the crowd roared. The scene in the winner's circle on Wednesday could have been from any Royal Ascot of the past 20 years, with the great jockey and his adoring fans engaging in their annual love-in.But this was different. It was Dettori's milestone 50th winner at the royal meeting - described this week as "the centrepiece of world horse racing".And, on another level, beyond the Frankie-Ascot continuum of absurd glamour and glory, this modest handicap race signified a subtle shift in racing's balance of power.The silks flying out of the saddle of winning filly Osaila were not the all-blue of Dubai's Godolphin racing empire, for which Dettori won so many races. They were the silver of Sheik Joaan al-Thani, of Qatar's ruling family.Metres from the celebrations stood a frowning jockey in that very blue jacket, unsaddling Always Smiling, the filly who'd been pipped at the post by Osaila. Third in the race was Queen Elizabeth II's filly Touchline, who put in a magnificent effort after a bad start.If British toffs are the "old" face of racing, and Godolphin, Ireland's Coolmore and sundry Americans the reigning powers, Qatar looms as the future. This race result was a startling representation of that order.The "sport of kings" is really a game of the super rich and as rich as Her Majesty and the al-Maktoums of Dubai might be the al-Thanis are richer. They are top dogs in the world's richest country per capita, with annual GDP of $200-billion shared among two million people - not equally, mind.The Gulf oil and gas money is talking. For centuries, Royal Ascot spurned sponsorship. How common. But in 2014 the seven al-Thani brothers' private investment group, Qipco, breached the castle walls. It was never going to be called anything as grubby as a sponsor - "in partnership with" was the chosen nomenclature. No numbers were mentioned and all Qipco got was discreet branding, in Ascot's own cream and gold hues, on two of the meeting's five days.Now the game is bigger. Last week, Qipco announced the biggest-ever corporate injection of money into British racing. The new sponsorship, covering the Guineas meeting at Newmarket and Ascot's Champions' Day, is worth more than £50-million over 10 years. This is on top of existing sponsorships at Goodwood and other courses.The Qataris' own racing yards are still dwarfed by Godolphin but they do comprise a few hundred horses and count among their victories a Melbourne Cup, two Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and a few other big races around the world. All this in less than five years' involvement in the game. Quite a gallop.They played a masterstroke in boosting their public popularity by hiring as stable rider the charismatic Dettori, whose career was on the skids after he'd been sacked by Godolphin and been banned for six months for snorting cocaine.Now the al-Thanis propose a Formula1-style series, visiting major tracks of the world in a travelling circus of the best thoroughbreds. Gulp.It sounds too good to be true and it might be.This is the same Qatar that allegedly bribed Fifa to get the 2022 World Cup. The same country that is a secretive, paranoid, absolute monarchy headed by an elite clan with immense power, that has zero transparency in government, embraces flogging and stoning, and has feudal ideas about women's rights. Recent media exposés have shown how migrant labourers on football stadium construction sites are horrifically abused.You don't get champagne socialism in this corner and I'm all for racing thriving. But one can't help feeling cynical about all this.I wonder if Sheik Joaan al-Thani will ever get to arrive at Ascot in one of the two prized guest seats in the queen's horse-drawn carriage...