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Mahmoud (1933–1962) was a French-bred, British-trained
Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...
racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, 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 bas ...
and
sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" an ...
. In a career which lasted from April 1935 to September 1936 he ran eleven times and won four races. In 1935 he won two of Britain's most important two-year-old races and was officially rated the second-best colt of his generation. In 1936 he won only once from five starts, but this win came in the Derby in which he set a race record which stood for fifty-nine years, and became the third of only four greys to win the race. After being retired from racing he was sold and exported to the United States, where he became a highly successful breeding stallion and was America's Champion sire in 1946.


Background

Mahmoud was a light-coloured grey horse of distinctly
Arab Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
appearance standing just under 15.3
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high bred in France by his owner the
Aga Khan Aga Khan (; ; also transliterated as ''Aqa Khan'' and ''Agha Khan'') is a title held by the Imamate in Nizari doctrine, Imām of the Nizari Isma'ilism, Nizari Isma'ilism, Ismāʿīli Shia Islam, Shias. The current holder of the title is the ...
. As a yearling he was considered surplus to requirements by his owner and put up for auction at the
Deauville Deauville () is a communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados department, Normandy (administrative region), Normandy, northwestern France. Major attractions include its port, harbour, Race track, race course, marinas, con ...
sales. When he failed to reach his reserve price the Aga Khan decided to race him and sent him to England to be trained by
Frank Butters Frank Joseph Arthur Butters (1878–1957) was a racehorse trainer specialising in flat racing who trained in Austria, Italy and England in the first half of the 20th century. He trained for two of the most successful owner-breeders in British raci ...
at the Fitzroy House stable in
Newmarket, Suffolk Newmarket is a market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk (district), West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, 14 miles west of Bury St Edmunds and 14 miles northeast of Cambridge. In 2021, it had a population of 16,772. It is a global ...
. Mahmoud's parents were the Derby winner Blenheim and the grey mare Mah Mahal, both of whom raced in the Aga Khan's colours. He was the first foal of Mah Mahal, who made little impact as a racehorse, winning two unimportant contests, but was an influential broodmare, with her descendants including Migoli and Petite Etoile.


Racing career


1935: two-year-old season

Mahmoud began his career by running a race at Newmarket in the spring which was declared void after thirteen of the sixteen jockeys failed to notice a false start and completed the full course. In June Mahmoud ran at
Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, about 25 miles west of London. Ascot is used for thoroughbred horse racing, and it hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 races and three Gra ...
and finished third in the New Stakes (a race now known as the Norfolk Stakes) behind Dorothy Paget's unnamed "Bossover colt", who was later named Wyndham. Mahmoud then established himself as one of the best two-year-olds of the season by winning his next three races. He won the Exeter Stakes at Newmarket's July meeting and then moved up in class for the Richmond Stakes over six furlongs at Goodwood later in the month. He won "very stylishly" from Confession Boy and Vanbrugh. In the Champagne Stakes at
Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...
in September he led from the start and won again, defeating the French-bred colt Abjer by three quarters of a length and reversing the Ascot form with the Bossover colt who finished third. At the time the race was regarded as having confirmed Mahmoud's position as the best two-year-old of the year. On his final start of the season, he ran in the Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket in October, one of the most prestigious two-year-old races of the season. He finished third, beaten by two lengths and a head by Abjer and the Bossover colt, but appeared an unlucky loser, having lost a great deal of ground at the start. After this defeat, his status as a potential Derby winner was questioned by some commentators who believed that his pedigree and performances suggested that he would struggle to stay one and a half miles. At least one leading British racing correspondent argued that he would not even stay the one mile distance of the
2000 Guineas The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1.6 km) and scheduled to take place each yea ...
. In the Free Handicap, a ranking of the year's best two-year-olds, he was rated equal second, one pound behind his stable companion Bala Hissar, the winner of the
Dewhurst Stakes The Dewhurst Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old Colt (horse), colts and Filly, fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mi ...
, who some commentators felt had been overrated.


1936: three-year-old season

Mahmoud began his three-year-old season with a run in the Greenham Stakes at Newbury. He looked unimpressive in the paddock before the race and finished fifth behind his stable companion Noble King, appearing to be unsuited by the soft ground. In the
2000 Guineas The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1.6 km) and scheduled to take place each yea ...
at Newmarket on 29 April he was ridden by the fifty-one-year-old veteran Steve Donoghue and started at odds of 100/8 ( 12.5/1). Mahmoud started poorly and Donoghue settled him behind the leaders with the intention of holding the colt up for a late run, but when the early pacemakers weakened, he found himself unable to obtain a clear run. He was forced to manoeuvre Mahmoud around several horses, losing ground as he did so. Once in the clear, Mahmoud showed good acceleration to take the lead a furlong out but was caught in the closing strides and beaten by a short head in a "thrilling finish" by Pay Up. The non-Thoroughbred outsider Thankerton finished third. At
Epsom Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...
Mahmoud started at 100/8 (again) for the Derby in a field of twenty-two runners, with Pay Up being made favourite. Mahmoud, ridden by Charlie Smirke, was seen as the Aga Khan's "third string" with his stable companions Taj Akbar, ridden by the Champion Jockey Gordon Richards, and Bala Hissar being more strongly fancied. Apart from the Aga Khan's three runners, Mahmoud's trainer Frank Butters also had Nonle King, another of the leading contenders in the race. After an unusually dry spring the ground at Epsom was exceptionally firm, and almost bare of turf in some places, conditions which suited Mahmoud, but inconvenienced many of the other runners. The race attracted the customary huge attendance despite the cold and dull conditions. Smirke held Mahmoud up towards the rear of the field in the early stages, moved him steadily forward to fifth place at Tattenham Corner and did not make his challenge until the straight. Mahmoud then made rapid progress on the outside to overtake Thankerton a furlong and a half from the finish and pulled clear to win easily by three lengths from Taj Akbar with Thankerton third. Pay Up struggled on the hard ground and finished unplaced and lame. Mahmoud's winning time of 2:33.8 set a race record which stood until
Lammtarra Lammtarra (2 February 1992 7 July 2014) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He ran only four times and retired undefeated. Lammtarra won three Group One races in 1995, in which year he was voted the Cartier Champion T ...
ran 2:32.31 in 1995. Mahmoud reappeared in the
St James's Palace Stakes The St James's Palace Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old Colt (horse), colts. It is run at Ascot Racecourse, Ascot ...
over one mile at Royal Ascot in which he was beaten five lengths by Rhodes Scholar, a colt who had been withdrawn from the Derby on account of the hard ground. No excuse was offered by Mahmoud's connections for his defeat, although some observers felt that he had not fully recovered from his exertions at Epsom. At Newmarket two weeks later, the Derby form did receive a boost however, when Taj Akbar defeated the American Triple Crown winner
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in the
Princess of Wales's Stakes The Princess of Wales's Stakes is a Group races, Group 2 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to Thoroughbred horses aged three years or older. It is run on the July Cour ...
. After his run at Ascot Mahmoud had problems with a cracked heel which kept him off the racecourse until the autumn. In September he ran in the third leg of the English Triple Crown, the
St Leger Stakes The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over ...
at Doncaster. He looked a likely winner early in the straight but faded in the closing stages of the mile and three quarter race and finished third behind the 20/1 outsider Boswell, beaten three and three-quarter lengths. The favourite Rhodes Scholar failed to settle and finished unplaced. Like most of the Aga Khan's best horses, Mahmoud was retired to stud at the end of his three-year-old season.


Stud record

Mahmoud began his stud career at the Aga Khan's Egerton Stud at Newmarket. In Europe he sired Majideh, the leading three-year-old
filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States ...
in
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in 1942 and
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of U.S. racing Hall of Fame inductee, Gallant Man. Another daughter, Donatella, was the leading two-year-old filly in
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
in 1941. In 1940, Mahmoud was sold for 20,000 guineas to prominent American horseman
Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Cornelius "Sonny" Vanderbilt Whitney (February 20, 1899 – December 13, 1992) was an American businessman, film producer, government official, writer and philanthropist. He was also a polo player and the owner of a significant stable of Thorough ...
for whom he would become a very influential sire. Mahmoud was sent to stand at Whitney's stud near
Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...
where he sired seventy stakes winners, including
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, Oil Capitol, The Axe II, Cohoes, and Vulcan's Forge. In 1946, Mahmoud earned
Leading sire in North America The list below shows the leading Father, sire of Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorses in North America for each year since 1830. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the year. It is restricted to Stallio ...
honors. In 1957, Mahmoud was the leading broodmare sire in North America. He was the damsire of Gallant Man,
Determine Determine (April 7, 1951 – September 27, 1972) was an American Thoroughbred race horse. In a racing career which lasted from 1953 through 1955, the California-trained colt ran forty-four times and won eighteen races. His best season was 1954 w ...
, Grey Dawn, Career Boy, Silver Spoon and
Avatar Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...
. His most significant impact on the breed came through his daughter Almahmoud, one of the most important broodmares of the mid-20th century. She is best known as the dam of Natalma, a
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 to honour those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness racing, harness and Thoroughbred racing, Thoroughbred horse racing in Canada. It is located at Woodbine ...
inductee and dam of champion and leading sire
Northern Dancer Northern Dancer (May 27, 1961 – November 16, 1990) was a Thoroughbred that, in 1964, became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. After being retired from racing, he became one of the most successful Stallion, sires of the 2 ...
. Almahmoud also produced Cosmah, who produced four stakes winners including leading sire
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, who in turn sired
Sunday Silence Sunday Silence (March 25, 1986 – August 19, 2002) was an United States, American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and Horse breeding#Terminology, sire. In 1989, he won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes but failed to complete the Triple Cr ...
. Mahmoud died at the age of twenty-nine on 18 September 1962. He is buried in the equine cemetery on C. V. Whitney's farm, now part of Gainesway Farm.


Pedigree


References


External links


1936 Derby from British Pathé
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahmoud (Horse) 1933 racehorse births 1962 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in France Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom United States Champion Thoroughbred Sires American Champion Thoroughbred broodmare sires Thoroughbred family 9-c Chefs-de-Race Epsom Derby winners