A Horseman's Farewell: Remembering the Horses of Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
A Champion Remembered in Silks
Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has died aged 76. Dubai's Ruler's Court announced ten days of mourning across the emirate following the news. Godolphin Managing Director Hugh Anderson said he was "a simply outstanding owner and breeder whose contribution to our sport will be felt for many years to come," a tribute echoed by connections of the horses that carried his colours to the top of the sport, prompting tributes from trainers and executives who worked alongside him across four decades of ownership.
Mtoto stood as the finest horse to carry those silks, winning the Gr.1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and two runnings of the Gr.1 Eclipse Stakes, trained throughout by Alec Stewart at Newmarket. He ran ten times between 1985 and 1988, winning seven, and was bred by John L. Moore as a son of 1967 Horse of the Year Busted. Slow to mature, he did not reach full stride until his 4YO season in 1987.
That year Mtoto won the Prince of Wales's Stakes before outpacing European champion Reference Point over the ten furlongs of the Eclipse, then finished fourth in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp. In 1988 he repeated both victories and added a two-length King George success from Unfuwain, with Italian-trained Tony Bin back in third — form that made him the intended standard-bearer for a first Arc triumph that autumn.
Mtoto travelled to Longchamp for the 1988 Arc, but Michael Roberts could not find a clear passage soon enough in a bumping straight. "Unfortunately there was a little bit of scrimmaging early in the straight and I had to sit and suffer for three or four strides," Roberts said. The delay proved decisive: Mtoto's late run at Tony Bin fell short by a neck, the closest he came to Arc glory.
The One That Got Away
Roberts later reflected on the horse in warmer terms, saying: "Mtoto was a very special horse – you don't get many like him – so for me to find one like that, I have him to thank." Mtoto was named Britain's Horse of the Year ahead of champion miler Warning, and retired to Aston Upthorpe Stud in 1989, where he stood for 17 years and sired Derby winner Shaamit before his death in 2011 at the age of 28.
Mashaallah, a son of Nijinsky trained by John Gosden, rose from handicap company to land three Gr.1 races in 1992: the Gran Premio di Milano, the Grosser Preis von Baden and the Irish St Leger, where he held off Snurge by a neck at the Curragh with Drum Taps third. He was narrowly beaten in the Prix Royal-Oak. Ahmed's colours also carried Wassl to the Irish 2,000 Guineas and Possessive Dancer to the Irish Oaks across the same era.
Tobougg won the Gr.1 Prix de la Salamandre and the Gr.1 Dewhurst Stakes in 2000 under Mick Channon's care, earning a Cartier Award as Ahmed's second champion two-year-old after the filly Bint Allayl in 1998. Moved into Godolphin's care, he ran in the 2,000 Guineas the following spring but never won again, finishing third in Galileo's Derby and second in the Champion Stakes before his racing days ended.
Addeybb, trained by William Haggas, won the Lincoln Handicap before adding Gr.1 victories in both Britain and Australia. Bred in Ireland by Rabbah Bloodstock and bought as a yearling for £200,000 (US$266,000) by Hamdan Al Maktoum's Shadwell operation before passing to Ahmed, the gelding won the Ranvet Stakes and Queen Elizabeth Stakes in Sydney on his first Australian raid as a six-year-old in 2020, then completed the year with victory in the Champion Stakes.
From Newmarket Prodigy to Sydney Star
A second Australian campaign brought Addeybb a further Queen Elizabeth Stakes, with local champion Verry Elleegant runner-up in each of his victories there, and that assignment alone was worth £1.3 million (US$1.7 million) of his career prize-money haul of £3.6 million (US$4.8 million). A serious health scare followed in late 2021, when an infected blood clot in a hock required a fortnight of hospital treatment and ruled him out of a third Australian raid before he later returned to race again.
Almaqam has emerged as the yard's current standard-bearer, reaching his peak as a 5YO under trainer Ed Walker. He won the Gr.1 Tattersalls Gold Cup in May 2026, with the operation's second string Saddadd — since a Group One winner himself — finishing third. Walker has described Almaqam as "a Group 1 winner" who has produced form "probably one of the best races we've seen this season," underlining the gelding's standing within the current string.
Almaqam produced his finest effort yet in the Gr.1 Juddmonte International Stakes at York on 19 August 2026, caught by Item in the last stride and beaten a head, with Constitution River third and Ombudsman fourth. He disappointed next time in the Gr.1 Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on 12 September 2026, finishing fourth, with Walker citing quicker ground than intended and suggesting with hindsight the run should not have been made.