An official 10-day mourning period has been declared in Dubai following the death on Monday of Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the younger brother of the Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed. Sheikh Ahmed was 76.The news, which was released by the Dubai Media Office, was accompanied by a tribute from Sheikh Mohammed which was shared on social media. It read, “May God have mercy on Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. May God have mercy on you, my brother. You have settled with a Generous and Great Lord. You are absent from our eyes but not from our prayers and hearts, O Ahmed.“May God make you dwell in the vast expanses of His Paradise and inspire us and your loved ones with patience and solace. And to God we belong, and to Him we shall return.”Sheikh Ahmed was predeceased by his elder brothers Sheikh Maktoum and Sheikh Hamdan. All four siblings have made a major impact on the world of Thoroughbred racing and breeding over decades, though Sheikh Ahmed cut a more private figure than the founders of Godolphin and Shadwell, Sheikh Mohammed and Sheikh Hamdan.Nonetheless, he was a significant owner and breeder in his own right, with his familiar yellow silks with black epaulettes being carried by a swathe of Group 1 winners from the 1983 Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Wassl (Mill Reef) to Saddadd (Pinatubo), who won the Grosser Preis von Baden earlier this month. This story is being updated.The post Dubai in Mourning as Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Dies at 76 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.