Muhtarram is an American-bred, British-trained

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 ...

race horse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, 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 basic pr ...

. He won the

Prince of Wales's Stakes The Prince of Wales's Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 1 furlong and 212 yards (2,004 met ...

at Ascot twice, in addition to the

Irish Champion Stakes The Irish Champion Stakes (Irish: Curadh-Dhuais na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,012 ...

and the Premio Presidente della Repubblica in Italy.

Background

Muhtarram was a bay horse bred in the United States by Cotswold Farm 1985 Ltd. He was sired by the dual

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France, over a distance ...

winner

Alleged In law, an allegation is a claim of an unproven fact by a party in a pleading, charge, or defense. Until they can be proved, allegations remain merely assertions.

. He was trained throughout his racing career by

John Gosden John Harry Martin Gosden (born 30 March 1951) is a British racehorse trainer. He has trained over 3,000 winners worldwide, including winners of the Breeders' Cup Classic, the Derby, the Arc, the King George, the Eclipse, and over 600 winners ...

and was ridden in all but one of his races by

Willie Carson William Fisher Hunter Carson, OBE (born 16 November 1942) is a retired jockey in thoroughbred horse racing. Life and career Best known as "Willie", Carson was born in Stirling, Scotland in 1942. He was apprenticed ...

Racing career

As a two-year-old in 1991, Muhtarram won both of his races, winning a

maiden race In horse racing a maiden race is an event for horses that have not won a race. Horses that have not won a race are referred to as maidens. Maiden horse races are held over a variety of distances and under conditions with eligibility based on the se ...

Leicester Racecourse Leicester Racecourse is a horse racing course in Oadby, Leicestershire, about three miles south of the city centre. History of horse racing in Leicester The earliest evidence suggests that racing took place at Abbey Meadow, Leicester on 23 Mar ...

in July and the Pytchley Stakes at the same course in October. In the following year, Muhtarram ran three times. He finished fourth behind Alnasr Alwasheek in the

Craven Stakes The Craven Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) ...

, fifth behind

Rodrigo de Triano Rodrigo de Triano (foaled 27 May 1989 – 5 August 2014) was an English Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. Background Foaled in Kentucky, and bred and raced by leading British horseman, Robert Sangster, he was out of the mare Hot Princess and sir ...

in 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 (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year at ...

and fourth behind

Dr Devious Dr Devious (10 March 1989 – 7 March 2018) was an Irish-bred and British-trained Thoroughbred race horse. In a career which lasted from May 1991 until November 1992, he ran fifteen times and won six races. He is most notable as the winner of th ...

in The Derby. Muhtarram did not race again until August 1993 when he won a minor stakes race at

Sandown Sandown is a seaside resort and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom with the resort of Shanklin to the south and the settlement of Lake, Isle of Wight, Lake in between. Together ...

and followed up by winning the Listed

Strensall Stakes The Strensall Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile and 177 yards (1,771 metres), and it is schedu ...

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

on 2 September. Nine days after his win at Doncaster, Muhtarram was moved up in class to contest the

Leopardstown Leopardstown () is a suburb of Dublin in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, within the traditional County Dublin, Ireland. Located at the foot of the Dublin Mountains, it is a residential suburb with institutional lands and a large racecourse. It is di ...

. Ridden by the veteran

he took the lead inside the final furlong and won by half a

length 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 Interna ...

from the favourite

Opera House An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically for o ...

. On his final appearance of the season he finished seventh behind

Hatoof Hatoof (born January 26, 1989 in Versailles, Kentucky) is a Thoroughbred Champion racehorse who competed internationally out of a base in Chantilly, France under trainer Criquette Head for owner Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Racing at a ...

in the

Champion Stakes The Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlong ...

. As a five-year-old, Muhtarram began his season by travelling to Italy, where he won the Premio Presidente della Repubblica in Rome on 15 May. Ten days later in Paris he was beaten a neck by

Bigstone Bigstone (8 February 1990 – 2002) was an Irish-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. As a three-year-old he became the only French-trained horse to win both of Britain's most important all-aged mile races, the Sussex Stakes and ...

in the

Prix d'Ispahan The Prix d'Ispahan is a Group 1 Group 1 may refer to: * Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal * Group 1 (racing), a historic (until 1981) classification for Touring car raci ...

. He returned to England in June for the

Royal Ascot 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 ...

where he defeated

Ezzoud Ezzoud (6 May 1989 – August 1998), was a Thoroughbred racehorse bred in Ireland and trained in the United Kingdom during a racing career which lasted from 1991 to 1994. He is best known for winning consecutive runnings of the International St ...

by a neck. Muhtarram did not win again in 1994, but ran consistently well in major middle-distance races: he finished second in the

Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud The Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Saint-Cloud over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is sc ...

, second in the

International Stakes The International Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 56 yards (2, ...

, third in the

Arlington Million The Arlington Million is a Grade 1 flat horse race in the United States for thoroughbred horses aged three years and upward on the turf. It was originally raced at the now-closed Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Illinois over a distance of m ...

, fourth in the Irish Champion Stakes and third in the Champion Stakes. Muhtarram remained in training as a six-year-old and ran three times. After finishing fifth in the

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

at Newbury in May he returned to Royal Ascot in June for the Prince of Wales's Stakes. He won the race for the second time, defeating Eltish by a short-head with the odds-on favourite

Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...

in fifth place. On his final appearance, Muhtarram finished sixth behind Halling in the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown.

Stud career

Muhtarram was retired to stud at the end of 1995. He had limited success as a sire of winners and produced his final crop in 2007. His best winners were the

Henry II Stakes The Henry II Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of 2 miles and 50 yards (), and it is scheduled ...

winner Fight Your Corner, and the Meld Stakes winner Muakaad. He was also the damsire of dual Oaks winner

Sariska Sariska Tiger Reserve is a tiger reserve in Alwar district, Rajasthan, India. It stretches over an area of comprising scrub-thorn arid forests, dry deciduous forests, grasslands, and rocky hills. This area was a hunting preserve of the Alwar ...

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 1989 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 10-a