With 2025 now behind us, late December brought the sad news that one of racing’s leading owner/breeders won’t be with us in 2026. A prominent figure in British racing for the past 30 years, Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum has passed away at the age of 74.
Starting with Zomaradah’s win in the 1998 Oaks D’Italia and ending with Inisherin’s success in the 2024 Commonwealth Cup, the Sheikh’s yellow silks with black spots were a regular sight in Group 1 winners’ enclosures. His death on 29 December 2025 deprives racing of one of its most enthusiastic personalities and leaves a significant hole to fill.
The Sheikh Mohammed Obaid silks made their British racecourse debut in 1992 and first entered the winners’ enclosure one year later. By the time of his passing, he had amassed 555 winners in Britain alone. Included in that impressive haul were 67 Group class victories, headlined by 19 Group/Grade 1 successes. When scanning the list of top-level winners, the following stars stand out from a talented crowd.
High-Rise
- Trainer – Luca Cumani
- Sire – High Estate
- Group 1 Wins – Epsom Derby (1998)
The Sheikh’s only British Classic winner came in the 1998 edition of the Epsom Derby. Despite arriving with an unblemished record of three wins in as many starts, including a victory in the Lingfield Derby Trial, High-Rise started as a 20/1 outsider. Nearer last than first as the field came around Tattenham Corner, the mount of Olivier Peslier sprouted wings in the straight. Hitting the front inside the final furlong, he edged out the Godolphin runner City Honours by a head.
The colt then finished second in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and an unlucky seventh in the Arc, before joining Godolphin at the end of his Classic campaign.
Postponed
- Trainer – Luca Cumani/Roger Varian
- Sire – Dubawi
- Group 1 Wins – King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2015), Dubai Sheema Classic (2016), Coronation Cup (2016), Juddmonte International Stakes (2016)
Like High-Rise, Postponed was initially based at the yard of Luca Cumani, for whom he won the first Group 1 of his career in the 2015 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Having made the move to the Roger Varian operation in 2016, the improving colt embarked on a four-race winning streak. That sequence included a Group 1 hat-trick as he left horses of the calibre of Highland Reel and Found trailing in his wake.
Defoe
- Trainer – Roger Varian
- Sire – Dalakhani
- Group 1 Wins – Coronation Cup (2019)
By a Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner, Dalakhani, and out of the Sheikh Mohammed Obaid-owned mare Dulkashe, this talented homebred horse improved throughout his career. Winning nine of his 22 starts, he won a maiden as a two-year-old, scored in Group 3 company at three, and at Group 2 level at four. His crowning moment then arrived at five, when springing an 11/1 surprise to see off St Leger winner Kew Gardens in the Coronation Cup.
Rosallion
- Trainer – Richard Hannon
- Sire – Blue Point
- Group 1 Wins – Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere (2023), Irish 2,000 Guineas (2024), St James’s Palace Stakes (2024)
Announcing himself on the big stage with a Group 1 juvenile win in France, Rosallion went on to prove himself one of the most talented members of the Classic cast of 2023. Finishing second to Notable Speech in the 2,000 Guineas, he went one better in the Irish version, before conquering Notable Speech and French Guineas winner Metropolitan at Royal Ascot.
Returning to the track in 2024, he finished second in the Group 1 trio of the Queen Anne Stakes, Sussex Stakes, and Prix du Moulin. Retired to stud in 2025, he is a promising addition to the stallion ranks.
Without A Fight
- Trainer – Simon & Ed Crisford/Anthony & Sam Freedman
- Sire – Teofilo
- Group 1 Wins – Caulfield Cup (2023), Melbourne Cup (2023)
Beginning life in England, Without A Fight won seven times for the Crisfords, with the pick of those efforts coming in the Group 3 John Smith’s Silver Cup at York. Having flopped in the 2022 Melbourne Cup, he moved Down Under to better acclimatise to conditions. Under the care of Anthony & Sam Freedman, he returned to Flemington in 2023. This time, the result was much different, as Without A Fight came with an irresistible late surge to win “the race that stops a nation” and claim just under £2.5 million in prize money.
Former Jockey Pays Tribute
With 193 victories in the yellow and black silks, Sardinian jockey Andrea Atzeni rode more winners than anyone for Sheikh Mohammed Obaid. Now based in Hong Kong, Atzeni was among those to pay tribute following the sad news:
“I was devastated to hear of Sheikh Mohammed Obaid’s passing. Besides our work relationship, we had a personal relationship as well. I was very close to him when I was riding for him, and when the work relationship ended, we actually became even closer. I only spoke to him three days ago over Christmas, and he was a great friend and a real family man.”