Arab (1824–1841) 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 c ...

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 ...

. In a brief racing career, the

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, t ...

ran three times with her only success coming in the

classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...

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 (1,609 ...

at Newmarket in 1827.

Background

Arab was a brown mare bred by her owner

George FitzRoy, 4th Duke of Grafton George Henry FitzRoy, 4th Duke of Grafton, KG (14 January 1760 – 28 September 1844), styled Earl of Euston until 1811, was a British peer and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1782 to 1811 when he succeeded to the Duked ...

at his stud at

Euston Hall Euston Hall is a country house, with park by William Kent and Capability Brown, located in Euston, a small village in Suffolk located just south of Thetford, England. It is the family home of the Dukes of Grafton. The Hall Euston first appears ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. She was the first foal of her dam

Zeal Zeal may refer to: * Zealotry, fanaticism ** Zeal of the convert * Diligence, the theological virtue opposite to acedia * Zeal (horse), race horse * Zeal (surname) * Zeal (web), an internet directory * Zeal Monachorum, a village in Devon * South ...

who won the 1000 Guineas in 1821: Zeal was a half-sister of

Zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

who won both the 1000 Guineas and Oaks in 1823. Her sire Woful was a brother of the Derby winners

Whalebone Baleen is a filter-feeding system inside the mouths of baleen whales. To use baleen, the whale first opens its mouth underwater to take in water. The whale then pushes the water out, and animals such as krill are filtered by the baleen and re ...

and

Whisker Vibrissae (; singular: vibrissa; ), more generally called Whiskers, are a type of stiff, functional hair used by mammals to sense their environment. These hairs are finely specialised for this purpose, whereas other types of hair are coarser ...

. He was also a successful stallion, siring the classic winners Zinc and Augusta (

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 yards (2, ...

) before being exported to

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

in 1832. Grafton sent the filly to be trained at Newmarket by Robert Robson, the so-called "Emperor of Trainers".

Racing career

1827: three-year-old season

Arab began her racing career on 1 May 1827 at Newmarket's Second Spring meeting. She ran in a Sweepstakes over the Ditch Mile course restricted to the produce of mares which had not produced a winner before 25 May 1825. The only filly in a field of four runners, Arab was not strongly supported in the betting but finished second to a colt named Pontiff, beaten two

lengths Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Intern ...

. Two days later, over the same course and distance, Arab started the 8/1 (or 10/1) third favourite for the 1000 Guineas Stakes which despite its name carried a prize of 1,400

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from t ...

. Lord Exeter's filly Marinella was made favourite ahead of Monody who was owned, like Arab, by the Duke of Grafton. The race produced a close finish between the two Grafton runners, with Arab prevailing by a head over her better fancied stable companion. Arab's win was the eighth in the race for the Duke of Grafton, a ninth for Robert Robson and a sixth for her jockey

Frank Buckle Francis Buckle (1766–1832), known to the British horse racing public as "The Governor", was an English jockey, who has been described as "the jockey non-pareil" of the opening quarter of the 19th century, and the man who "brought respectabi ...

. Arab did not run in the Oaks Stakes, and made her next appearance at

Ascot Racecourse Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and ...

on 12 June where she competed in a Sweepstakes for three-year-old fillies over the New Mile course. She was not one of the favourites and finished third of the six runners behind Mr Payne's roan filly Serenade, the winner of the

Newmarket Stakes The Newmarket Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,012 metres) on t ...

. This race concluded Arab's racing career.

Stud record

After her racing career, Arab was exported to France where she produced Miss Tandem, who in turn foaled the

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 over a ...

winner Renonce. Arab was barren for many years after 1832, producing a half-

Arabian The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...

foal in 1837 and her last foal in 1840. She died in 1841 under the ownership of Mr. de Mallevoue.

Pedigree

*Arab's pedigree contained a large amount of

inbreeding Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders and o ...

. She was inbred 3x4 to Sir Peter Teazle and Potoooooooo, meaning that these stallions appears in both the third and fourth generations of her pedigree. She was also inbred 4x4 to Highflyer.

References

{{1000 Guineas winners 1824 racehorse births 1841 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 25 1000 Guineas winners