Mata Hari (foaled in 1931 in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

) was an American

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

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 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 largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

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

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 anima ...

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 Dis ...

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

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 ra ...

, 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 International Racecourse (formerly Arlington Park, the name was Arlington Park Jockey Club from as soon as 1948 up to 1955) was a horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Horse racing in the Chicago regi ...

. 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 $500,000, 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 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...

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. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both t ...

along with Edward R. Bradley's

Bazaar A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, suc ...

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 a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

won by

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

. 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/Cicero, Illinois, just west of Chicago in early April each year. ...

against males at

Aurora Downs History Aurora Downs was a horse racing facility in Aurora, Illinois, that hosted thoroughbred racing and harness racing events as early as 1891. The Downs was originally a half-mile track named Aurora Driving Park, located north of Illinois Avenu ...

, 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 track, racing venue in the Chicago metropolitan area from 1884 until 1977. It had two locations during its existence. It was first situated in what is the current location of the Washingto ...

. 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" a ...

s such as

Bull Lea A bull is an intact (i.e., not Neutering, castrated) adult male of the species ''Cattle, Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., Cattle, cows), bulls have long been an important symbol i ...

Ksar Ksar or qsar (Maghrebi Arabic: wiktionary:قصر, قصر ''qṣer'' or ڭصر ''gser'', plural ''qṣur''; Berber language, Berber: ⵉⴴⵔⵎ ''aghrem'' or ''ighrem'', plural: ''igherman''), plural ksars, qsars, ksour or qsour, is the Nor ...

, 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. Ei ...

. 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 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