Sheikh Maktoum. - REUTERS
LONDON (Reuters):
SHEIKH MAKTOUM Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, who has died in Australia, aged 62, helped revolutionise horse racing in Britain and elsewhere.
Though his brothers Sheikh Mohammed and Sheikh Hamdan took a higher profile in recent years, Sheikh Maktoum remained a major figure as a breeder and owner with hundreds of horses in training round the globe.
His best-known performers included 2001 Breeders' Cup Turf winner Fantastic Light, top sprinter of the late 1980s Cadeaux Genereux, 1993 Newmarket Champion Stakes winner Hatoof and 1983 Irish Derby hero Shareef Dancer.
Julian Richmond-Watson, senior steward of the Jockey Club, the sport's long-time ruling body in Britain, said yesterday: "Sheikh Maktoum Al Maktoum made a hugely significant contribution to the sport of horse racing and British thoroughbred racing and breeding in particular.
"He bred and owned several champions, many of which went on to enjoy great success at stud."
He added: "Along with other members of his family he was a great sportsman who cared deeply about his horses.
"The majority of his racing interests were based in this country and I believe he shared with the British racing public a love of horses, of racing and of the history and heritage the sport has in this country."
Sheikh Maktoum was the owner of Gainsborough Stud in Newmarket where many of his stallions stood at the end of their racing lives.
With his brothers he also turned the US$15 million Dubai World Cup meeting each March into one of the sport's great festivals.
