Almutawakel (foaled in 1995 in

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, died in 2007) was a British

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic ...

sired by Machiavellian and the Irish stakes-winning Green Desert mare, Elfaslah.

Racing career

Almutawakel's most prominent victory came in the 1999

Dubai World Cup The Dubai World Cup (Arabic: كأس دبي العالمي) is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 and contested at the Meydan Racecourse (Arabic: ميدان) which in Arabic suggests a place wher ...

. Going into the race at 44-1 and considered a heavy

underdog An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, th ...

, Almutawakel held his own and, with jockey Richard Hills at the helm, won the race by ¾ lengths. He beat out several prominent horses, such as Malek, Silver Charm,

Daylami Daylami (20 April 1994– 6 June 2016) was a Thoroughbred Champion racehorse and sire who was bred in Ireland, but trained in France, Dubai and the United Kingdom. In a career which lasted from 1996 and 1999, he raced in five different countri ...

and Victory Gallop, winning the $3 million first place prize in the process. At the time, it was the first Dubai World Cup win for Sheikh Hamdan, who has since produced another winner, Invasor. He was also the first of seven wins at the Dubai World Cup for

Godolphin Racing Godolphin (Arabic: جودلفين) is the Maktoum family's private Thoroughbred horseracing stable and was named in honour of the Godolphin Arabian, who came from the desert to become one of the three founding stallions of the modern Thoroug ...

. Prior to winning the Dubai World Cup, Almutawakel won the 1998

Prix Jean Prat The Prix Jean Prat is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,400 metres (about 7 furlongs), and it is sch ...

at Chantilly. He also finished as the runner up in the 1998

Grand Prix de Paris The Grand Prix de Paris is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and ...

. Almutawakel finished his racing career in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. In 2000, trained by

Mark Hennig Mark A. Hennig (born April 10, 1965, in Mansfield, Ohio) is an American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer. Racing career Born into a horse racing family, his father, John Hennig, was also a trainer. After working with his father, Mark was enco ...

, he finished second in the

Woodward Stakes The Woodward Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race and is one of the premier races for older thoroughbred horses in the United States. It is named for prominent racehorse owner William Woodward. The race was first run in 1954 at Aqueduct Ra ...

and the Oaklawn Handicap and third in the

Jockey Club Gold Cup The Jockey Club Gold Cup, established in 1919, is a thoroughbred flat race open to horses of either gender three-years-old and up. It has traditionally been the main event of the fall meeting at Belmont Park, just as the Belmont Stakes is of the ...

. Almutawakel did not win a race after his first-place finish at the 1999 Dubai World Cup.

Stud career

Almutawakel finished his career with a 4-4-1 in 19 career starts. Overall, he accumulated $3,643,021 in earnings. In 2007, after failing to respond to treatment for chronic

arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In some ...

, Almutawakel was euthanized in

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at Sheikh Hamdan's Derrinstown Stud. At the time his death, Almutawakel sired eight stakes winners for a grand total of $5,765,852 in earnings.Dubai World Cup winner Almutawakel euthanized
thoroughbredtimes.com, 7 November 2007, accessed 13 April 2009.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 1995 racehorse births 2007 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Dubai World Cup winners Racehorses trained in the United Arab Emirates Thoroughbred family 16-g