'He loved his horses' - Clive Brittain leads tributes following death of leading owner Mohamed Obaida

Clive Brittain has paid tribute to Mohamed Obaida, the Emirates-based owner of Group 1 stars such as Sayyedati, Air Express and Dubai Honour, who died on Saturday following a long illness.

The globetrotting Dubai Honour's victory in the Group 1 Tancred Stakes in Australia three weeks ago was the seven-year-old's fourth at the top level and was the latest in a string of big-race victories in the blue and red silks of his owner.

Obaida was involved in racing for more than four decades. His most notable successes came with the top-class Sayyedati, who won five Group 1s in Britain, Ireland and France for Britain, including the 1,000 Guineas in 1993 and the 1995 Sussex Stakes. 

Sayyedati and Walter Swinburn forged a hugely successful partnership over the course of four seasons Credit: Getty Images

"She certainly was very special to me and fillies like her don’t come along very often," said Brittain of Sayyedati.

A daughter of 2,000 Guineas winner Shadeed, Sayyedati was bred by Sheikh Maktoum's Gainsborough Stud and won the Cherry Hinton, Moyglare and Cheveley Park as a two-year-old. 

After her Guineas triumph, she followed up in the Prix Jacques le Marois, the first of several overseas assignments. She travelled to Japan in the spring of her four-year-old career, while her final race at five was at the Breeders' Cup at Belmont.

"As an owner he was always pleased to go where I suggested with Sayyedati and never interfered with a plan," said Brittain. "They were good horses and he was a very easy man to train for. He loved his horses and we had a good relationship."

Clive Brittain: "He loved his horses and we had a good relationship"Credit: Chris Bourchier

Air Express landed the Italian and German versions of the 2,000 Guineas in 1997 for Obaida and Brittain before defeating Rebecca Sharp in the QEII Stakes at Ascot.

"Winning at Ascot was a very special day," said Brittain. "I was so lucky as a trainer to have many good owners and he was just the nicest man and a good friend." 

Bruce Raymond, who served as Obaida's racing manager, said: "He was just a wonderful man. I’ve known him since the Sayyedati days and he’s always looked the same age. He was kind and just a good guy to know. 

"The last time he came to England would have been last year and he would always go to the sales in Newmarket."

Raymond added: "I don’t think he left any stones unturned, even at an advanced age. I would ask his son Salem how he was doing and would be told he was away hunting with the hawks. If everybody was like him, there would be no more problems in the world."

Obaida's two sons, Saeed and Salem, are also owners, while his granddaughter, Maitha, created history when becoming the first Emirati woman to hold a training licence at Meydan.