Remembering the late Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, a kind soul

Mohammed Saeed Harib was a young boy when he first got to know the late HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

“When we were kids, my father worked closely with the Sheikh Hamdan on the biggest ever Dhow sailing race on Sir Bu Naair Island. They basically have 300 boats with 30 people in each boat, camping there and then doing this annual trip back to Dubai. It was a race that His Highness sponsored. And every time we were there, he will open up his Majlis and will speak to the press and he will speak freely about sports,” Harib tells Esquire Middle East.

Harib, the Emirati creator of the region’s first 3D cartoon Freej, film director and horse enthusiast, was always struck by Sheikh Hamdan’s warmth of spirit and jovial personality in private, even if he was usually private in public.

“He was somebody who is always cheerful, very shy from the cameras but says the right things when need be, other than his major contributions and finance and all other sectors,” says Harib.

Sheikh Hamdan was incredibly accomplished professionally and as a leader, but loved to speak most about the things he loved the most, including horse racing, his greatest personal passion.

“I used to follow his horses running since I was eight,” says Harib.

“And he loved his horses. He loved racing his horses across the world. He has horses in Australia, South Africa, and America and Europe, of course, I used to meet him and see him in in Royal Ascot Racing Course, especially when the big races were there.”

Saeed Harib, like many Emiratis, residents of the UAE and horse enthusiasts from around the world, was deeply saddened to learn of his passing.

“He has created legacy with horse racing in Europe, especially in Britain. And you know, he was a huge contributor to that industry. So it’s a very sad loss for us here because we always recognize him as a very warm personality.”

The news was announced yesterday by his brother, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minster of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, through his official Twitter account.

Sheikh Hamdan was the second son of Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who passed away in 1990 after ruling the emirate for 32 years, beginning in 1958. He spent his life in Dubai, studying at Al-Ahlia school before travelling to Bell School of Languages in Cambridge, but travelled all over the world with his horses.

Those who he worked with most closely in Shadwell Racing, the brand he ran since 1981 that has become one of the most recognizable and respected in the sport, have been effusive in their praise of Sheikh Hamdan.

“You would not meet a more honest and loyal man. I will be forever grateful to him. It’s been an honour and a privilege to ride for him,” said Jim Crowley, a jockey for Sheikh Hamdan.

He was also a family man who, much in the way that he took Harib under his wing when he was a child, continued to do so for the children of those he knew closely.

“From a phone call when we went into lockdown in January to check [if] my family was ok, to taking [my son’s] James and Eddie onto the podium after Battaash won his first Nunthrope—just a couple of examples of the kindness of Sheikh Hamdan,” says Charlie Hills, who trained horses for Sheikh Hamdan.