Sheikh Hamdan

Celebrating 40 Years of the Breeders' Cup When Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum passed away early in 2021 after decades of prominence in Thoroughbred racing and breeding, it was unclear in the sport what would happen to his vast bloodstock and farm holdings. Racing needn't have worried. His daughter, Sheikha Hissa, catapulted into the public eye as the head of Shadwell right at the same time the racing stable was seeing a resurgence. The bedrock laid over decades of success by Sheikh Hamdan was the perfect foundation for stunning...

Hukum (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), the brilliant winner of this year's King George at Ascot, has been retired to stand at Darley Japan for 2024 where he will remain in the ownership of Shadwell. A full-brother to six-time Group 1 winner Baaeed (GB), the dual Group 1 winner will join the roster in Hokkaido and nomination details will be announced at a later date. Trained by Owen Burrows, Hukum enjoyed a stellar career and was twice successful at the highest level. Along with that memorable King George triumph, where...

Albertus Maximus (Albert the Great--Chasethewildwind, by Forty Niner), winner of the 2008 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, died following a paddock accident. The 18-year-old stallion was recently pensioned to Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement from Shadwell's Nashwan Stud. Racing in Sheikh Hamdan's colors, Albertus Maximus also won the 2009 GI Donn H. He retired from racing in 2012 with six wins from 17 starts and earnings of $1,328.230. "Albertus Maximus inherited his sire's self-confidence," said Old Friends President Michael Blowen. "Like Albert the Great, Albertus was well aware of his extraordinary talents....

Rogue Millennium (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who won the May 7 Listed SBK Oaks Trial Fillies' S., will be supplemented to the G1 Cazoo Oaks on June 3, trainer Tom Clover confirmed. The daughter of Group 3 winner Hawaafez (GB) (Nayef) was bred by the late Sheikh Hamdan's Shadwell Estate Company and the owners The Rogues Gallery will pay the £30,000 supplementary entry fee required to contest the Epsom Downs showpiece. The filly, purchased for only 35,000gns out of the Tattersalls December Mares Sale in 2021, won at Wetherby on debut...

   The TDN's 'Let's Talk'--a podcast series featuring TDN's Christina Bossinakis and TVG's on-air analyst Gabby Gaudet, offers candid discussion on personal and professional issues often faced within the racing community.    The latest edition features longtime trainer-turned-jockey agent Kiaran McLaughlin, who represents one of the nation's top riders, Luis Saez, winner of Friday's GI Kentucky Oaks aboard Secret Oath, trained by McLaughlin's former mentor D. Wayne Lukas. Kiaran McLaughlin has pretty much seen and done it all in the sport of horse racing. From his earliest days as a...

   The latest edition features longtime trainer-turned-jockey agent Kiaran McLaughlin, who represents one of the nation's top riders, Luis Saez, winner of Friday's GI Kentucky Oaks aboard Secret Oath, trained by McLaughlin's former mentor D. Wayne Lukas. Kiaran McLaughlin has pretty much seen and done it all in the sport of horse racing. From his earliest days as a hot walker and later as an assistant to a host of successful trainers, including Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, McLaughlin rounded out a 30-year career as a trainer--featuring a sparkling...

Shadwell Farm, which has been undergoing a business review of operations in the U.S., as well as in Ireland and the UK, since its founder, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, died last March, will sell two farms in Central Kentucky. The properties are the 839-acre Shadayid Stud, located on both sides of Leestown Road, and the 525-acre Erhaab Stud, located on Frankfort/Georgetown Road. Both farms feature fields, paddocks, barns, homes, and more. Shadayid Stud is being offered for $17.75 million, while Erhaab Stud is listed for $12...

Almighwar (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), a twice-winning son of Sheikh Hamdan's G1 Oaks and G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. winner Taghrooda (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), enters stud this year at Garryrichard Stud in a deal brokered by Luke Lillingston. Almighwar won twice going a mile and a half at Kempton as a 3-year-old and was placed in a Newbury conditions race going a shade over two miles last April. He traces back to the excellent Aga Khan family of Group 1 and Classic-winners Estimate (Ire), Enzeli (Ire),...

Shadwell's Hukum (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), the winner of three Group 3s over middle distances last season, is being set toward the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan on Mar. 26. The 5-year-old won Goodwood's Listed Tapster S. in May before finishing third in the G2 Hardwicke S. at Royal Ascot. After that Hukum put together back-to-back scores in the G3 Silver Cup S. and G3 Geoffrey Freer S., and was second in Kempton's G3 September S. before closing out his campaign with a 6 1/2-length win in the...

With 2021 now behind us--thankfully, some might say--it's time to look back at the TDN stories that were the mostly widely read during the year. Unfortunately, it's a list largely void of feel-good stories. That's not surprising during what was another tumultuous year for the sport, from the sad saga of Medina Spirit (Protonico) to the sentencing of drug cheat Jorge Navarro to five years in prison to the 11th-hour surprise that was the United States Anti-Doping Agency announcing that it would not be part of the Horseracing Integrity and...

Shadwell's Erhaab (Chief's Crown--Histoire {Fr}, by Riverman), who won the G1 Derby at Epsom in 1994, died peacefully this week at Batsford Stud. The 30-year-old, the oldest surviving winner of the Blue Riband, had spent the past decade at the Gloucestershire stud. Bred by Sheikh Hamdan's operation in Kentucky, the half-brother to Group 2 winner Oumaldaaya (Nureyev) and stakes winner Hispanolia (Fr) (Kris {GB}) was trained by John Dunlop. In five starts as a juvenile, the dark bay won twice and was also third in the G3 Horris Hill S....

Shadwell, which was the international racing and breeding empire of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum who passed away in March, will undergo a full business review. The company's operations in the UK, Ireland and the USA will contract, with the key focus being on quality and competition at the highest level of the sport with horses of the calibre of Group/Grade 1 winners Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) and Malathaat (Curlin). As a result, a number of horses-in-training and homebred yearlings will be sold this autumn,...