Mata Hari (foaled in 1931 in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

) was an American

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world champi ...

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 bred and owned by

Charles T. Fisher Charles Thomas Fisher (February 16, 1880 – August 8, 1963) was an American businessman and an automotive pioneer. Born in Norwalk, Ohio, Charles was the second son of Lawrence and Margaret Fisher. The family would grow to include seven boys a ...

, a

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

body Body may refer to: In science * Physical body, an object in physics that represents a large amount, has mass or takes up space * Body (biology), the physical material of an organism * Body plan, the physical features shared by a group of anim ...

manufacturer who raced under the Dixiana Stable banner named for his

Dixiana Farm Dixiana Farm, founded in 1877, is an American Thoroughbred horse breeding farm in Lexington, Kentucky. It is the birthplace of Hall of Fame inductee Domino. In 1971 the Keeneland Association honored Dixiana Farm with its Keeneland Mark of Distinc ...

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 ...

Racing career

1933: two-year-old season

Trained by

Clyde Van Dusen Clyde Van Dusen (1886 – January 8, 1951) was an American jockey and trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses best known for winning the 1929 Kentucky Derby. Biography Following a career as a jockey, Van Dusen turned to training. Handling the racing ...

, as a two-year-old in 1933, Mata Hari won five of her eight starts. On July 8, 1933, she earned her third win in three starts by taking the important Arlington Lassie Stakes at

Arlington Park Arlington Park (formerly known as Arlington International Racecourse) is a former horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Once called the ''Arlington Park Jockey Club'', it was located adjacent to the Illinois Rou ...

. In winning the October 21, 1933

Breeders' Futurity Stakes The Breeders' Futurity Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early October at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky. Currently offering a purse of $600,000, the race is open to two-year-old horses and is run ...

, Mata Hari defeated colts, including future

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

inductee

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, and set a Latonia track record of 1:09 3/5 for six

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 on dirt. One week later at Latonia, she became the second filly in its fourteen-year history to win the

Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes The Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the last week of November at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. A Grade II event, the race is open to two-year-olds willing to race one and one-sixtee ...

in which she again defeated males. Mata Hari's performances in 1933 saw her retrospectively named

American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing Horse racing is an equestrianism, equestrian performance activity, typically involving ...

along with Edward R. Bradley's

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1934: three-year-old season

In 1934, Mata Hari continued racing against her male counterparts. John Gilbert rode her to a fourth-place finish in the 1934

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

won by

Cavalcade A cavalcade is a procession or parade on horseback, or a mass distance ride by a company of riders. Sometimes the focus of a cavalcade is participation rather than display and the participants do not wear costumes or ride in formation. ...

. She went on to win the May 23

Illinois Derby The Illinois Derby is a race for Thoroughbred horses for three-year-olds run over a distance of one and one-eighth miles (9 furlongs) on the dirt at Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney, Illinois, just west of Chicago in early April each year. The eve ...

against males at

Aurora Downs Aurora Downs was a historic horse racing facility in North Aurora, Illinois, operating from the late 19th century until 1981. Established in 1891 as the half‑mile Aurora Driving Park, it hosted thoroughbred and harness racing, county fairs, cir ...

, breaking the track record by more than three seconds with a time of 1:49 3/5 for a mile and an eighth on dirt. On June 23, Mata Hari won the Illinois Oaks for fillies at

Washington Park Race Track Washington Park Race Track was a popular horse racing venue in the Chicago metropolitan area from 1884 until 1977. It had two locations during its existence. It was first situated at what became the Washington Park Subdivision of the Woodl ...

. For the second year in a row, Mata Hari was retrospectively named the American Champion Filly of her age group.

Broodmare

Mata Hari was bred to

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 ...

s such as

Bull Lea Bull Lea (March 11, 1935 – June 16, 1964) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who is best known as the foundation sire responsible for making Calumet Farm one of the most successful racing stables in American history. In their ...

Ksar Ksar or qṣar (), in plural ksour or qsour (), is a type of fortified village in North Africa, usually found in the regions predominantly or traditionally inhabited by Berbers (Amazigh). The equivalent Berber languages, Berber term used is ' ( ...

, and

Eight Thirty Eight Thirty (March 27, 1936 – April 7, 1965) was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. He was owned by George D. Widener Jr. and bred by his Erdenheim Farm. Widener is one of only five people ever named an Exemplar of Racing. Eigh ...

. Her best runner was Charles Fisher's homebred colt Spy Song (b. 1943). Sired by 1934

American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt The American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when the ''Daily Racing F ...

Balladier, Spy Song won the 1945

Arlington Futurity The Arlington-Washington Futurity is a Listed horse race for Thoroughbred two-year-olds. It is scheduled to run at a distance of one mile on the turf at Arlington Park, Arlington Heights, Illinois every fall and as at 2020 offers a purse of $100, ...

and ran second in the 1946

References

{{reflist 1931 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States American Champion racehorses Thoroughbred family 2-o