The racing legacy of Sheikh Maktoum al Maktoum, who died yesterday at the age of 62 while on a visit to Australia, can be measured in Classic winners and in a string of hundreds of thoroughbreds spread across the world.

And while Sheikh Maktoum may not have been as familiar a figure on racecourses as his two brothers his influence has been just as important.

Sheikh Mohammed and Sheikh Hamdan have been more frequent visitors to these islands following the fortunes of their horses than their elder brother but he was passionate about racing and for three decades his blue and white colours were seen to great effect not just in Ireland and Britain but in Europe and the rest of the world.

He spread his empire far and wide and has had hundreds of horses based with trainers across the world. Sheikh Maktoum's younger brother Sheikh Mohammed may have been the original motivator in the development of the family global bloodstock interests but the late Emir was the first of the brothers to enjoy Classic success in Ireland.

In 1982 his Newmarket-trained Touching Wood followed in the footsteps of Trigo (1929) to become only the second dual winner of the English and Irish St Legers.

A year later Sheikh Maktoum provided a minor surprise when the Irish Sweeps Derby field included Teenoso, ridden by Lester Piggott and Pat Eddery's mount Caerleon who were respective winners of the English and French Derbys. This was the first of many occasions when the Curragh provided the testing ground for similar Derby deciders but Walter Swinburn, for whom this was a first Irish Derby ride, upset the script by overturning the two favourites aboard Sheikh Maktoum's Shareef Dancer.

His colours were again successful in an Irish Derby (1994) when Balanchine, for whom a £60,000 supplementary fee was posted after her victory in the Oaks at Epsom, became the most recent member of her sex to win an English, Irish or French Derby.

Like his brothers, Sheikh Maktoum made substantial stud investments in Ireland namely the 730-acre Woodpark at Dunboyne in Co Meath and the 500- acre Ballysheehan Farm in Cashel, Co Tipperary. His Irish -trained horses were under the care of Jim Bolger and included Jet Ski Lady a long-shot winner of the Oaks at Epsom.

Sheikh Mohammed, in line for the succession since taking on the title of Crown Prince, has been the man most responsible for the dramatic resurgence of Dubai. For long regarded as one of the lesser states that make up the United Emirates he has driven forward its growth as a major tourist destination on the Persian Gulf.

When quizzed about the billions of dollars he has spent on bloodstock, Sheikh Mohammed has cited the expenditure as a very economic way of tourist promotion and claims that such events as the Dubai World Cup, the richest day's racing in the World, have provided round the world TV coverage serving to introduce his homeland to an enormous audience.

The late Michael Osborne, who managed his Kildangan Stud in Co Kildare for 20 years, described the Sheikh as "the most competitive person he had ever met in his life". This has been exemplified with close on 20 multi-million pound purchases in the last couple of months intended to beef up his Godolphion Racing Stable after they had taken a beating in 2005 at the hands of the Coolmore Ballydoyle team.

Sheikh Maktoum went on to enjoy a whole string of major triumphs with Shadeed (1985 2,000 Guineas and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes), Green Desert (1986 Haydock Sprint Cup), Cadeaux Genereux (1989 Nunthorpe Stakes), Jet Ski Lady (1991 Oaks) and Hatoof (1992, 1000 Guineas).

Then in 1997 he was the most successful owner in Europe with Group One wins in five European countries including Royal Applause in the Haydock Sprint Cup. In 2001 it was his idea to supplement Lailani for the Irish Oaks, which she duly won and then also went on to glory in the Group One Nassau Stakes in the care of Ed Dunlop.

Dunlop is based at Gainsborough Stables in Newmarket and concedes he will be eternally grateful to Sheikh Maktoum for giving him his wonderful opportunity. Just three months ago Dunlop saddled the six-year-old Court Masterpiece to give Sheikh Maktoum Group One glory in the Prix de la Foret at Longchamp.

Sheikh Maktoum was also instrumental in setting up the Godolphin operation, from choosing the famous blue silks to deciding horses should be trained in Dubai to run in the top international races. And perhaps his greatest horse of more recent times, Fantastic Light, also represented Godolphin. Bred by Sheikh Maktoum at his Gainsborough Farm Stud in Kentucky, the son of Rahy wore his silks at the start of his career and was later switched to the Dubai-based operation. He landed his greatest successes in races such as the Hong Kong Cup, Irish Champion Stakes and Breeders' Cup Turf that culminated in him winning the Emirates World Series (another Maktoum family inspiration) in 2000 and 2001.

He purchased Gainsborough Stud in Newbury more than 20 years ago and was instrumental in his family going into race sponsorship, safeguarding the Dubai Champion Stakes as a key race in the Flat calendar. He made sure he got the right people behind him snapping up Joe Mercer, one of the most popular, talented and respected jockeys to be his racing manager 19 years ago after he retired from the saddle.

Coolmore's John Magnier said yesterday: "It was with great regret that I learned of Sheikh Maktoum Al Maktoum's untimely death today. He is a great loss, not only to his family and nation, but also to world racing. He made a lasting and important contribution to racing, not least in Ireland, and it is the poorer for his passing."

From racehorses to trainers, to racing managers, race sponsorship, to studs and beyond, Sheikh Maktoum's contribution to the sport of kings is immeasurable.