Tom Woodhouse was the last Boulia-based trainer to win the Boulia Camel Cup when his mount Uncle Bob won in 2014.

And after a second place finish in last weekend’s Bedourie Cup, Woodhouse is hoping to go one better again this year.

Tom said camel racing was in the family.

“My father trains them, we just mainly run them around the racetrack to get them fit,” Woodhouse said.

“A lot of our camels got their first ride last year.”

Woodhouse is taking his camels on the circuit of the three western events: Bedourie, Boulia and Winton.

Camel training is tough work and Woodhouse admitted the beasts could be temperamental.

“As my father said, the closest thing to them is a woman, very temperamental” he said.

Joking aside, Woodhouse is pair of a mixed sex team when it comes to camels.

“I handle them, my fiance rides them,” he said.

“They are a lot easier to handle than horses, after the races my ride camels and my racing camels will just stay at home till next year, about 30 of them there and we just forget about them.

“You can do that with a horse.”

His fiance Kyrraley Lupinski said she loved riding camels.

“It’s a great adrenaline rush,” she said.

“I grew up riding horses and you get used to the difference, they are actually a smoother ride because they have such a big stride.”

Woodhouse and Lupinski narrowly missed out at Bedourie but are both looking forward to performing on their home turf of Boulia which is known as the Melbourne Cup of camel racing.

But the pair will be among a strong field of locally trained camels at the starting gates as all four of Boulia’s camel training teams mount up for the races.

Another jockey Ronnie Callope said the Woodhouse family got her involved.

“Julie Woodhouse asked if I knew how to horse ride, because Garry Woodhouse was looking for a couple of camel jockeys. She said if you know how to ride a horse, that’s all you need is your balance.”