Sheikh Hamdan

Champion sprinter and four-time Group 1 winner Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}--Anna Law {Ire}, by Lawman {Fr}), has been retired from racing, connections announced on Saturday. The 7-year-old gelding raced in the Shadwell colours for the late Sheikh Hamdan and in 2021, his daughter, Sheikha Hissa. His final start was a seventh-place run aiming for a fifth-straight win in the G2 King George Qatar S. at Goodwood on Friday. Racing Manager Angus Gold said on behalf of Shadwell Estate Company, Ltd., "Following telephone conversations with HH Sheikha Hissa Bint Hamdan...

A year that began with the loss of two of the most lavish, Prince Khaled Abdullah and Sheikh Hamdan al Maktoum, is aptly measuring the reinvigoration of the breed achieved by modern investors from the same deserts where it first took root. Godolphin owes Derby wins at both Epsom and the Curragh to colts by Prince Khaled's greatest bequest, Frankel (GB); while its U.S. division laid down a marker of continuity and vitality when Mystic Guide (Ghostzapper) won the G1 Dubai World Cup just three days after its founder's brother...

Richard Lancaster, who has served for over 20 years as the Stud Director of Shadwell Estate Company Limited, is stepping down following the death of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Lancaster began as an assistant to Captain Bobby Dolbey. "Shadwell are very grateful to Richard for all his skill and hard work, helping Shadwell become one of the leading owner/breeders in the world," the stud said in a statement. "We wish him all the best for the future." Added Lancaster, ""Following the sad death of HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin...

Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) has exited his fourth-place finish in last week's G1 King's Stand S. in good form and is on course to attempt a fifth straight win in Goodwood's G2 King George S. on July 30. The 7-year-old gelding was making his first run since last summer when folding in the late stages after attending a hot pace in the King's Stand. "He's come out of the race really well actually, he's been cantering away this week and we're really pleased with him," said trainer Charlie Hills....

South African champion Hawwaam (SAf) (Silvano {Ger}-Halfway To Heaven {SAf}, by Jet Master {SAf}), the winner of five Group 1s in the colours of the late Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, will enter stud in 2021 at Wilgerbosdrift Stud, which co-bred him with Mauritzfontein Stud and sold him for R1,000,000 at the Bloodstock South Africa National Yearling Sale in 2017. South Africa's champion 3-year-old of 2018-19, Hawwaam won the G1 Premier's Champions Challenge twice, and also collected the G1 Horse Chestnut S., G1 Daily News 2000 and G1 S...

Shadwell Estates's Mutasaabeq (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), who earned 'TDN Rising Star' status with a six-length conditions win at Newmarket's Craven meeting on Apr. 13, is set to be supplemented for the G1 2000 Guineas on Monday. The Guineas takes place at Newmarket on Saturday. "As long as all is well with the horse [Monday] morning, we will supplement him," said Angus Gold, Shadwell's racing manager. "We've been thinking about it. We didn't put him in at the first stage because we thought it might come a bit quick for...

Blue-blooded 'TDN Rising Star' Malathaat (Curlin) looks to follow in her dam and grand-dam's hoofprints by adding a Grade I to her perfect resume Saturday in the GI Central Bank Ashland S. at Keeneland. A debut winner going seven panels at Belmont Oct. 9, the $1.05-million KEESEP purchase romped by 7 3/4 lengths in the one-mile Tempted S. at Aqueduct Nov. 6. She proved distance was no issue when coming alive late with a determined rally to capture a sloppy renewal of the nine-panel GII Demoiselle S. at the Big...

Good Morning, It's not often that I feel compelled to write, but in this case the sensitivity and poise by which Chris McGrath addressed the passing of Sheihk Hamdan was truly skillful. The world of horse racing, and for that matter, breeding, has been dealt a huge blow with the passing of both Sheikh Hamdan and Prince Khalid. As Chris so poignantly mentioned, we have taken for granted the impact both men had on our industry on a global scale, and the thought of a world in which racing will...

The show must go on. After a year of pandemic, that turns out to be pretty much the default setting of our commendably resilient species. And you couldn't ask for a much better example than the staging of the G1 Dubai World Cup--just three days after the death of Sheikh Hamdan; behind closed doors, and behind closed faces. At the best of times, it's difficult for family and friends of public figures to grieve in a duly intimate register. Throw in the frigid constrictions of Covid, with no tactile consolation...

A day removed from the death of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum at the age of 75, Willie Carson-his former retained rider who rode many of his great stars of the late 1980s and 1990s-remembered his former boss as "a gentleman, a really nice man." Carson recalled on Sky Sports Racing how the appointment with Sheikh Hamdan pulled him back from the brink of retirement. "The lease was not going to be renewed for [trainer Dick Hern's] West Ilsley stables and Dick was a bit taken aback by that...

The mating plans for the high-quality Shadwell broodmare band were announced by the stud on Monday. Nunnery Stud's four stallions, led by new recruit Mohaather (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), will all be well supported by Shadwell. Several top-flight winners are booked to the 2020 G1 Sussex S. victor, among them dual Group 1 winners Nazeef (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), Ghanaati (Giant's Causeway) and South African multiple Grade 1 winner Majmu (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}). They are joined by Ghanaati's Rahy half-sister, the stakes winner and G1 Oaks third Rumoush, who already...

Retired trainer Robert Armstrong passed away on Feb. 5 after a brief illness, reported Racing Post. He was 77. A trainer of champions Moorestyle (GB) (Manacle {GB}) and Never So Bold (GB) (Bold Lad {Ire}), Armstrong trained from his Newmarket base of St Gatien Stables for 27 years until 2000. He was a third-generation trainer after his father and grandfather. In total, his horses won 13 Group 1 races. Sheikh Hamdan utilised Armstrong as a trainer for approximately 15 years until his retirement. One of the notable winners in the...