Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai and builder of a global Thoroughbred empire, has won nearly all of the world's major races -- but not the Kentucky Derby. - Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai and builder of a global Thoroughbred empire, has won nearly all of the world's major races -- but not the Kentucky Derby.

Over the last decade, the sheikh has tried to win the Derby by shipping his horses in from Dubai, but this time, he's employed a different strategy. He kept his current Derby hopeful, Alpha, stateside all winter with original trainer Kiaran McLaughlin.

The sheikh and his connections are hopeful this is the year they break through.

"Our brief is to compete in as many premier international races as possible," said Simon Crisford, racing manager of the sheikh's Godolphin operation.

"It goes without saying that the Kentucky Derby is one of the world's greatest races, and we absolutely recognize the historic importance and prestige attached to the 'Run for the Roses.' It is one of the few races in the world that captures the public's imagination and puts our sport on the front pages."

While Sheikh Mohammed is enthusiastically involved in a wide range of endeavors, all have a unifying theme: ardent pride in his heritage. That is the thread that connects everything — from his ambitious development projects in Dubai, to his passion for composing Arabic poetry, and his love for the horse, perhaps the most cherished symbol and legacy of his culture.

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Sheikh Mohammed's equine pursuits are a way to promote his homeland, and celebrate its historical roots, all in a cutting-edge, contemporary manner.

"A love for horses runs in my blood," Sheikh Mohammed has said. "Don't forget that horses have been bred for centuries by Arabic tribes, they were used for hunting and fighting and they symbolize our history. Horse riding is more than merely sitting on a horse's back. It is nobility and chivalry."

His commitment to Thoroughbred racing was sparked when he was a student in England. The sport was a frequent topic of conversation with his host family at Cambridge, and the sheikh went to historic Newmarket to see one of the British classics, the Two Thousand Guineas, in 1967.

Little could his British hosts have known that their young guest, and his family, would go on to exert an overwhelming influence on the worldwide racing scene. Sheikh Mohammed's first winner came in England in 1977, and in the ensuing decades, he and his Maktoum brothers would spend fortunes in amassing legions of royally-bred prospects around the globe.

As Sheikh Mohammed likes to point out, the Thoroughbred's origins lie in the deserts of the Middle East, where the breed's foundation sires were born. Exported to the British Isles in the 17th and 18th centuries, these stallions were crossed with the local mares, producing an outstanding hybrid with the best qualities of both -- the Thoroughbred.

Sheikh Mohammed pays tribute to two of these founding progenitors, the Darley Arabian and Godolphin Arabian, by naming his breeding and racing operations in their honor. The Darley banner came first. Aside from some runners on the track, Darley includes the sheikh's far-flung stud farms in England, Ireland, France, the United States, Australia and Japan.

Slideshow   Prepping for the Derby Horses and their handlers prepare for the annual Run for the Roses on Saturday.

Godolphin, Sheikh Mohammed's elite racing unit, was inaugurated in 1992. The idea was to bring his best runners to Dubai for the winter. By escaping the European cold for the Arabian sun, the horses would be following the migration pattern ordained by nature. Skeptics scoffed, but the results spoke for themselves.

Godolphin made its first big splash on the world stage in 1994, when champion filly Balanchine captured the Epsom Oaks and defeated males in the Irish Derby. Her success proved that one could plunder the European classics after wintering in Dubai.

Since then, the famous royal blue silks have fanned out everywhere. Godolphin runners have landed 185 top-level prizes in 12 countries.

As Godolphin was becoming a roving ambassador for Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed was also remaking the emirate into a winter racing showcase. He created the world's richest race, the Dubai World Cup, to lure outstanding horses from across the globe. First run in 1996, the Dubai World Cup is now worth $10 million, and anchors the world's most lucrative race day, supported by several seven-figure events.

Viewed in the context of Godolphin's mission and Dubai's growth, it's no surprise that Sheikh Mohammed has desired to win the Kentucky Derby by way of Dubai. Although that strategy has worked for the European classics, it has failed at Churchill Downs.

Godolphin first attempted to win the Derby in 1999 with Worldly Manner, who was privately purchased in the fall of his juvenile campaign. Worldly Manner was transferred from Derby-winning trainer Bob Baffert to Godolphin's trainer Saeed bin Suroor in Dubai, where he limbered up in a trial, not an official race. He finished seventh in the Kentucky Derby.

The next year, Sheikh Mohammed instituted the U.A.E. Derby, a lucrative race in its own right that could also serve as a prep race for Kentucky. Godolphin's China Visit and Curule finished first and third at home, but could do no better than sixth and seventh, respectively, at Churchill.

The pattern became familiar. Godolphin's best hopes would leave their U.S. trainers, and run well for bin Suroor in Dubai, only to falter when returning for the Derby: Express Tour (eighth in 2001), Essence of Dubai (ninth in 2002) and Regal Ransom and Desert Party (the respective eighth and 14th in 2009).

Godolphin is hardly alone in the international shippers category. Indeed, in 137 runnings of the Kentucky Derby, only one horse has shipped in from abroad to win -- the Venezuelan-based Canonero II in 1971.

Over the past 40 years, globalization has made its mark on the Derby, as with so many other facets of life. Horses have come from Europe and as far afield as Japan to try the Derby, without success. Among these are the Irish invaders representing Coolmore, Sheikh Mohammed's archrivals on the world stage. Coolmore's principal trainer, Aidan O'Brien, has failed with Johannesburg and Castle Gandolfo (2002) and Master of Hounds (2011), and launches another transatlantic raid with Daddy Long Legs this year.