The Melbourne Cup-winning partnership of owner Sheikh Mohammed Obaid al-Maktoum and father-son trainers Anthony and Sam Freedman is on pause – at least for now – after the Emirati royal ended his current investment in Australian racing.
Sheikh Obaid’s final Australian horse, G1 Spring Champion Stakes runner-up Henlein, departed for the UK midweek. A Dundeel half-brother to Group 1 winner Magic Time, he is the first Australian-bred horse that the owner has taken abroad.
Henlein’s departure means that Sheikh Obaid has decided to forgo the A$10 million Golden Eagle with the four-year-old. Instead, he has expedited his departure for the northern hemisphere – a decision made to allow the owner better opportunities to watch him race.
“Henlein will arrive in the UK shortly and Sheikh Obaid will decide on a trainer in due course,” the owner’s representative Liam O’Rourke told Idol Horse. “Sheikh Obaid enjoys seeing his horses run in Europe and Henlein will bolster his interests up here.
“(Sheikh Obaid) has raced with much success in a relatively short time in Australia where his silks are also very famous, particularly with his high-class European homebreds. The potential remains to continue this practice in the future should a suitable opportunity arise.
“He has enjoyed a warm working relationship with both Sam and Anthony Freedman which continues as before.”
Sheikh Obaid’s global investments are managed by Godolphin, the outfit of his cousin, Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum. Sheikh Obaid’s Australian stable was primarily managed by Godolphin Australia’s racing and bloodstock manager Jason Walsh.
Without A Fight is the most notable horse to represent Sheikh Obaid in Australia, becoming the 12th horse to land the prestigious Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup double in 2023. He was retired in May, having raced only twice in 18 months.
Among the owner’s other Australian-raced horses was Royal Champion, who had three starts down under late last year before returning to the UK to win three of his five starts in 2025. That includes a scintillating last-start success in the G2 York Stakes for Karl Burke.
British stakes performers Third Realm and Dubai Poet also represented Sheikh Obaid but have since been sold, while his other Australian horses have been offered by Godolphin on Inglis Digital over the past year.
All of his Australian horses have been trained by the Freedmans and O’Rourke said that the relationship remained strong. They will receive the first opportunity to train any future Australian horses.
Sheikh Obaid, whose yellow and black colours have graced global racecourses for more than three decades, has had stormy relationships with some of his previous trainers in Britain.
In 2015, a two-decade relationship with Luca Cumani ended suddenly when he moved his horses to Roger Varian. That partnership ended after nine years when Sheikh Obaid removed his last horses from Varian last August.
Other trainers to lose horses from the owner include Simon and Ed Crisford and Andrew Balding.
In 2016, after Postponed won the G1 Juddmonte International at York, Sheikh Obaid said in his post-race interview that he sees himself at the head of a hierarchy when it comes to his racehorses.
“I am military – if I give someone an order, he has to take my order,” he said. “I’m not going to listen to a trainer giving me an order. If I tell you that you have to run in this race, you have to run. I won’t take excuses later.”
Sheikh Obaid’s British horses are split between Richard Hannon, Kevin Ryan, Karl Burke and George Boughey. Group 1-winning sprinter Inisherin will sport his yellow colours with black spots at Deauville on Sunday in the G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest.
While the Freedmans may not have Sheikh Obaid as a current owner, Sheikh Mohammed’s interest in the stable has grown substantially since Godolphin Australia moved away from a private training model.
Along with Ciaron Maher, they have received the greatest number of transfers from James Cummings with their acquisitions including Cox Plate contender Tom Kitten.
Given the Freedmans already had nine horses for Godolphin, it makes them the largest stable for the global outfit down under. ∎
