Sheikha Hissa interview: The new head of Shadwell – and a woman leading change in the Middle East

When Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum, the seven-time champion owner, died in the spring of 2021 there was understandable concern within the racing industry about the hole that the departure of such a big and passionate owner-breeder might leave in the sport.

The affable deputy ruler of Dubai, older brother of Sheikh Mohammed, two-time Derby-winning owner, spent 40 years building up his stable under the ‘Shadwell’ banner.

But racing need not have fretted. It has thrust his daughter Sheikha Hissa into the limelight not only as the new head of Shadwell – she runs it for her five siblings and her mother – but at the forefront of societal changes in the United Arab Emirates where women from the royal family once tended to remain in the background.

Indeed Sheikha Hissa, 27, has proved something of a breath of fresh air for racing. After four decades of the Sheikhs and their all male entourages, she breezes into the paddock with her husband Sheikh Maktoum and a colourful, mainly female entourage.

A woman wearing a hijab is not an accustomed sight in horse racing circles yet she is relatable, even referring to Hukum after he won this summer’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes as a ‘cuddlebug’, talks about her horses as her ‘babies’ and at the end of the year she should be crowned champion owner. Indeed, she would seal it if Mostahdaf, one of her star performers this season, does his stuff in Saturday’s big-race finale, the Qipco Champion Stakes, at Ascot.

If that is the case she would join Queen Elizabeth II as one of only five women to be champion Flat owner since the War. Whether she likes it or not she is now one of the most powerful women in the sport.

Speaking to Telegraph Sport, she recalled that racing and horses had always been a passion for her, that it not only created a special bond with her father but taking over Shadwell has given her ‘a purpose’ that she also hopes will set an example for more Arab women coming to the fore in racing.

“I grew up with horses,” she explains. “I’ve always been in the background [with the racing]. Many people at Shadwell knew I liked Sakhee.

“I was very little when he won the 2001 Arc and so when I grew up I went to see him at stud. By then he was nearly retired and after that I went to see Taghrooda [the filly that won the 2014 Oaks and King George] and from that day my father gave me two homebred yearlings.

“Then every year I got four whether he picked them or I picked them. Obviously my father was the boss and what he said went. He was not a man of many words but he will show you how he runs things if you watch closely and observe him.

“He asked lots of questions, listened to opinions, the jockey, the trainer, adviser, manager, keep your ears out. He taught me to stick with your gut feeling and that there’s always next time.”

Brought up in an English curriculum school in Dubai after which she studied international affairs at university there, Sheikha Hissa speaks perfect English. She rides dressage and showjumping albeit not competitively.

Taking over Shadwell has, she says, not only given her a job but something to get stuck into. Though she is a Unesco goodwill ambassador for Voices of the Future, an environmental writing project for children, for the Arabian region, she is not involved in running the emirate like her father.

“It helped me move on from my father to see what I could do with the horses,” she says. “It was his passion and something I didn’t want to lose so it helped me mourn him and find a purpose for my own life.

“Horses in general do a lot for me. My father lived this way, too. He loved to attend the races, to see his horses more so. He loved coming in June to see his foals. In October they look so different. You have to see them yourself. Videos can only do so much.”

Her life is now governed by the rhythms of the racing year but the first thing she did on taking over Shadwell was give the roses a hard prune – and, led by Baaeed, last year’s champion Flat horse, the roses came back stronger.

“My father was a statesman,” she says. “He was very busy. He had a lot of horses to keep up with. When he passed away we knew how important it was [to keep it going]. My conversation, in terms of bonding with him, was horses, so my family relied on me to be in charge of horses.

“Obviously we had to establish how we worked things and have a new approach. I’d like it if it can break even at a point. We’ve had three good years, 2021, 22 and 23. Two years run by Baaeed and this year a lot of our homebreds have made us extremely proud. I hope it continues.”

Sheikha Hissa spoke to Telegraph Sport shortly after having spent 1.6 million guineas on a Frankel filly, one of seven fillies bought from Tattersalls high-end Book One sale for an overall spend of 3.5 million guineas. Buying fillies to inject new bloodlines into the breeding wing of Shadwell is a long-term project.

“I’m never going to break even on that but I wish they’d do something about the prize money,” she says, wistfully. “I try to buy new blood – and we’ll find out in 10 years’ time if that’s been successful. For that you have to like the sport.

“The good ones, specifically the homebreds, are important to everyone. I won’t ever forget how my father looked when he went to see Salsabil, or Nashwan or Erhaab. I was too little when they were running but I find random photos, polaroids of him with them at home, so I hope I end up doing the same thing for my family. I’m still going to be talking about Baaeed in 30 years’ time. We all hope we’ll have a few more to talk about.”

Baaeed was timely and, in many ways, a symbolic passing of the baton from father to daughter. “Baaeed? I needed it, we all needed it,” she reflects. “A boost specifically after my father passed away. He came at a time when I needed a good smile. I never thought I’d see a return to the golden years but I think Baaeed renewed it. It shows that something my father worked hard on for 30 years, he reaped the rewards. But you have to be patient.”