Makfi (foaled 4 March 2007) is a British-bred, French-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 2010 he won 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 ...

and

Prix Jacques Le Marois The Prix Jacques Le Marois is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred colts and fillies aged three years or older. It is run in August each year at Deauville over a distance of ...

Background

Makfi's sire is

Irish 2,000 Guineas The Irish 2,000 Guineas is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it ...

and Prix Jacques Le Marois winner

Dubawi Dubawi (foaled 7 February 2002) is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse. He has proven himself a top-class sire (horse), sire. Background Dubawi is a bay horse with no white markings bred in Ireland by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Sheikh Moham ...

. Makfi was one of Dubawi's first crop of foals, which also included Poet's Voice and Monterosso. Makfi's dam, Dhelaal, is a daughter of Green Desert and a half-sister of the Cartier Champion Two-year-old Colt Alhaarth. As a granddaughter of the broodmare Green Valley, Dhelaal was also closely related to Green Dancer, Solemia and Authorized. He went into training with Marcus Tregoning in England and was owned by his breeder Hamdan Al Maktoum. He was sold as an unraced two-year-old at the Tattersall's Horses in Training Sale in October 2009 at Newmarket.He was transferred to France and trained by Mikel Delzangles and owned by Mathieu Offenstadt.

Racing career

Makfi made his first start in 2009, winning a five-runner race at Fontainebleau. This was his only start as a two-year-old and was next seen easily winning the

Prix Djebel The Prix Djebel is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1,400 metres (about 7 furlongs) at Deauvi ...

in April 2010. He then started the

at Newmarket as a 33/1 outsider. In the race jockey Christophe Lemaire held Makfi up towards the rear of the field. He made progress thought the field with two

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to any of 660 foot (unit), feet, 220 yards, 40 rod (unit), rods, 10 chain (unit), chains, or a ...

s left to run and overtook leading Dick Turpin inside the final furlong. He went on to with the race by 1¼ lengths from Dick Turpin, with

Canford Cliffs Canford Cliffs is a suburb of Poole in Dorset, England. The neighbourhood lies on the English Channel coast midway between Poole and Bournemouth. To the southwest is Sandbanks which has some of the highest property values in the world; with C ...

a further ½ length back in third place. The pre-race favourite St Nicholas Abbey finished in sixth place. Makfi followed his 2000 Guineas success with a disappointing run 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 ...

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 ...

, where he finished in seventh behind winner Canford Cliffs. He then faced seven rivals, including Goldikova and Paco Boy, in the

. He took the lead with half a furlong to run and ran on to win by 2½ lengths from 4/6 favourite Goldikova, with Paco Boy just behind her in third. Makfi returned to

Ascot Ascot, Ascott or Askot may refer to: Places Australia * Ascot, Queensland, suburb of Brisbane * Ascot, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a locality * Ascot Park, South Australia, suburb of Adelaide * Ascot (Ballarat), town near Ballarat in Victoria ...

for his final race, the

Queen Elizabeth II Stakes The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is ...

. He started as the even money favourite, but could only finish in fifth place, about three lengths behind winner Poet's Voice.

Assessment

Makfi was officially rated as the joint third best horse in the world in 2010, with a rating of 128. The only horses rated higher were Harbinger and

Blame Blame is the act of censuring, holding responsible, or making negative statements about an individual or group that their actions or inaction are socially or morally irresponsible, the opposite of praise. When someone is morally responsible fo ...

, making Makfi the top miler in the world that year.

Stud career

After being treated for

ringworm Dermatophytosis, also known as tinea and ringworm, is a mycosis, fungal infection of the skin (a dermatomycosis), that may affect skin, hair, and nails. Typically it results in a red, itchy, scaly, circular rash. Hair loss may occur in the a ...

in October 2010 Makfi was retired to Tweenhills Stud in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

. His 2012 fee was £25,000 and it remained the same for 2013. He has also been shuttled to stand in New Zealand during the Southern hemisphere breeding season. Makfi's first crop of foals included the

Poule d'Essai des Poulains Molof (Ampas, Poule, Powle-Ma) is a poorly documented Papuan languages, Papuan language spoken by about 200 people in :id:Molof, Senggi, Keerom, Molof village, Senggi District, Keerom Regency. Classification Stephen Wurm, Wurm (1975) placed it a ...

winner

Make Believe Make believe, also known as pretend play or imaginative play, is a loosely structured form of play that generally includes role-play, object substitution and nonliteral behavior. What separates play from other daily activities is its fun and cre ...

. He stood at Westbury Stud from 2011 to 2016. In late 2014 he transferred to the Haras de Bonneval in France for the 2015 covering season as part of a deal involving 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 ...

and Qatar Bloodstock.

Notable progeny

''c = colt, f =

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 ...

'', g =

gelding A gelding (Help:IPA/English, /ˈɡɛldɪŋ/) is a castration, castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. The term is also used with certain other animals and livestock, such as domesticated Camelidae, camels. By compa ...

'', m =

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equidae, equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more th ...

Pedigree

References

External links

Career 1-2-3 Colour Chart
– ''Makfi'' {{2000 Guineas winners 2007 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in France Thoroughbred family 16-c 2000 Guineas winners