Musa (1896 – 1920) was a British

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 and

broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other 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 than four ...

. As a two-year-old in 1898, she failed to win but showed great promise by being placed in several major races including the

New Stakes New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

. In the following spring, she finished third in the

1000 Guineas The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile ...

before winning the

Epsom Oaks The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 ya ...

. She ran unplaced in two subsequent starts and was retired from racing at the end of the year. She had considerable success as a broodmare.

Background

Musa was a bay mare bred in England. During her racing career she was owned by Douglas Baird and trained by Harry Enoch. She was sired by Martagon, a stayer whose biggest wins came in the

Goodwood Cup The Goodwood Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 2 miles (3 ...

and

Queen's Vase The Queen's Vase is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old horses. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 6 furlongs and 34 yards (2,847 metres), and it is schedu ...

before going on to sire the Snow Marten and Wool Winder. Her dam Palmflower was an influential broodmare who was the ancestor of numerous major winners and is regarded as the foundation mare of Thoroughbred family 20-c.

Racing career

1898: two-year-old season

In her first major race Musa contested the

over five and a half

furlongs 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 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains, or approximately 201 metres. It is no ...

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 ...

on 16 June. Starting at odds of 7/2 she led for most of the way before being overtaken in the closing stages and beaten three quarters of a length by the colt

Flying Fox ''Pteropus'' (suborder Yinpterochiroptera) is a genus of megabats which are among the largest bats in the world. They are commonly known as fruit bats or flying foxes, among other colloquial names. They live in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Aust ...

. At

Goodwood Racecourse Goodwood Racecourse is a horse-racing track five miles north of Chichester, West Sussex, in England controlled by the family of the Duke of Richmond, whose seat is nearby Goodwood House. It hosts the annual Glorious Goodwood meeting in l ...

on 28 July Musa finished third behind Eventail and St Gris in the Prince of Wales' Stakes over six furlongs. On 13 October at

Newmarket Racecourse Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of ...

Musa started favourite for the Prendergast Stakes but was beaten lengths into second place by the American-bred filly Myakka.

1899: three-year-old season

Musa began her second season in the

1000 Guineas The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile ...

over the Rowley Mile at Newmarket on 28 April 1899 in which she started at odds of 100/7 and finished third of the thirteen runners behind Sibola and Fascination. In the 121st running of the

Oaks Stakes The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 y ...

over miles at

Epsom Racecourse Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse in a hilly area near Epsom in Surrey, England which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. The "Downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course has a crowd capacity of 130,000 includin ...

on 2 June, Musa, ridden by Otto Madden, started a 20/1 outsider in a twelve-runner field. Sibola started favourite while the other fancied runners included Princess Mary, Janitza, Fairy Gold and Victoria May. After tracking the leaders for most of the way she slipped through on the inside to take the lead and held off the challenge of Sibola to win by a head. The ride of the American jockey Tod Sloan on the runner-up was widely criticised and Musa was considered a somewhat lucky winner. On 29 June at Newmarket Musa was matched against male opposition and older horses 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 ...

and finished unplaced behind Flying Fox. In the Newmarket Oaks over fifteen furlongs on 10 October Musa ran unplaced behind Gadfly.

Breeding record

Musa was retired from racing to become a broodmare for her owner's stud before being moved to France in 1909. She produced eight foals, including three top-class winners, from 1901 to 1915 and died in 1920. *Mousqueton, a bay colt, foaled in 1901, sired by

Carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and ligh ...

. Won

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

*Sweet Vernal, bay filly, 1904, by

Sainfoin __NOTOC__ ''Onobrychis'', the sainfoins, are a genus of Eurasian perennial plant, perennial herbaceous plants of the legume family (Fabaceae). About 206 species are presently accepted. The Flora Europaea lists 23 species of ''Onobrychis''; the m ...

*Feramorz, bay colt, 1908, by

St Frusquin St. Frusquin (1893–1914) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and Horse breeding#Terminology, sire. In a racing career that lasted from May 1895 to July 1896, he ran eleven times and won nine races. He was the best British two-year-old of ...

* Mirska, bay filly, 1909, by St Frusquin. Won

Epsom Oaks The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 ya ...

. *Montviette, bay filly, 1910, by William the Third *Malaquais, bay colt, 1911, by Rabelais *Montmaur, bay colt, 1912, by Rabelais *Montmartin, bay colt, 1915, by Cadet Roussel. Won

Prix du Jockey Club The Prix du Jockey Club, sometimes referred to as the French Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Chantilly ov ...

and

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), an ...

Pedigree

References

{{Epsom Oaks Winners 1896 racehorse births 1920 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 20-c Epsom Oaks winners