Mumtaz Mahal (1921 1945) 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 ...
racehorse who the
National Sporting Library's ''
Thoroughbred Heritage
The National Sporting Library & Museum or NSLM (formerly the National Sporting Library) is a research library and art museum in Middleburg, Virginia in the United States.
History
The National Sporting Library was founded in 1954 in the personal ...
'' website says was "one of the most important
broodmares of the 20th Century".
Thoroughbred Heritage. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
Background
She was named after empress
Mumtaz Mahal
Mumtaz Mahal (/'/; ), born Arjumand Banu Begum (27 April 1593 – 17 June 1631) was the empress consort of the Mughal Empire from 19 January 1628 to 17 June 1631 as the chief consort of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. The Taj Mahal in Agra, oft ...
, wife of
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
ruler
Shah Jahan of
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...
fame. Bred by Lady Sykes at her Sledmere Stud in
Driffield
Driffield, also known as Great Driffield, is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The civil parish is formed by the town of Driffield and the village of Little Driffield. By road, it is north-east of Leeds ...
,
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...
, Mumtaz Mahal was out of the mare Lady Josephine. Her
sire was
The Tetrarch
The Tetrarch (1911–1935) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He was undefeated in a racing career of seven starts and was voted the best British-trained two-year-old of the 20th century according to the National Horse ...
,
Mumtaz Mahal's five-generation pedigree and race record. Retrieved February 18, 2011. whom the ''Thoroughbred Heritage'' website also said was "probably the greatest two-year-old of all time", and that he was "possibly the greatest runner ever."[
]
Racing career
Prepared by horse trainer, trainer Richard Dawson
Richard Dawson (born Colin Lionel Emm; 20 November 1932 – 2 June 2012) was a British-born American actor, comedian, game-show host and panelist in the United States. Dawson was well known for playing Corporal Peter Newkirk in ''Hogan's Heroe ...
at Whatcombe Stables in Wantage
Wantage () is a historic market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. Although within the boundaries of the historic county of Berkshire, it has been administered as part of the Vale of White Horse district of Oxfordshire since 1974. T ...
, Oxfordshire, at age two all of Mumtaz Mahal's races were at distances of either five or 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 hor ...
s. Quickly dubbed "The Flying Filly" because of her blazing speed,[ she set a new track record in the Spring Stakes at ]Newmarket Racecourse
Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of British horserac ...
as part of her five important wins in 1923. In her last race that year, she finished second in the Imperial Produce Stakes on a track heavy with mud. At three Mumtaz Mahal finished second in her first distance test, the 1924 1,000 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 ...
, and was fifth in the Coronation Stakes
The Coronation Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 7 furlong and 213 yards (1,603 metres), and it is schedul ...
. Her handlers then entered her only in sprint races; she won the six-furlong King George Stakes
The King George Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,006 metres), and it is ...
and the five-furlong Nunthorpe Stakes
The Nunthorpe Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged two years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 5 furlongs (1,006 metres), and it is sched ...
.
Breeding record
Retired to breeding
Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant.
Breeding may refer to:
* Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and ra ...
duties at the Aga Khan III's Sheshoon Stud at the Curragh
The Curragh ( ; ga, An Currach ) is a flat open plain of almost of common land in County Kildare. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the ...
in County Kildare, Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, Mumtaz Mahal became an important broodmare. Mumtaz Mahal's best racing son was Mirza II; he (like her) raced his best at distances of six furlongs or less but his trainer, Frank Butters
Frank Joseph Arthur Butters (1878–1957) was a racehorse trainer specialising in flat racing who trained in Austria, Italy and England in the first half of the 20th century. He trained for two of the most successful owner-breeders in British raci ...
, said he was the fastest horse he had ever conditioned.
Mumtaz Mahal's daughter Mumtaz Begum was bred to Nearco
Nearco (January 24, 1935 – June 27, 1957) was an Italian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse described by '' Thoroughbred Heritage'' as "one of the greatest racehorses of the Twentieth Century" and "one of the most important sires of the century." He ...
to produce Nasrullah, the sire of Bold Ruler who in turn sired Secretariat
Secretariat may refer to:
* Secretariat (administrative office)
* Secretariat (horse)
Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Ame ...
. Among Mumtaz Mahal's other descendants are Royal Charger, Petite Etoile, Abernant, and Shergar
Shergar (3 March 1978 – ) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. After a very successful season in 1981 he was retired to the Ballymany Stud in County Kildare, Ireland. In 1983 he was stolen from the stud, and a ransom of ...
.
After foaling four foals in England (including Mah Mahal), Mumtaz Mahal was sent to the Aga Khan's Haras Marly-la-Ville stud farm in Marly-la-Ville
Marly-la-Ville () is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France, 25 km north of Paris.
History
Thomas-François Dalibard lived at 15 rue du Colonel Fabien, a classical eighteenth-century mansion. He was a n ...
, Val-d'Oise
Val-d'Oise (, "Vale of the Oise") is a department in the Île-de-France region, Northern France. It was created in 1968 following the split of the Seine-et-Oise department. In 2019, Val-d'Oise had a population of 1,249,674. , France. There she had five more foals, including Mumtaz Begum and Mirza II. She died there in 1945 at the age of 24.
Pedigree
See also
*Aga Khan III
Sultan Muhammad Shah (2 November 187711 July 1957), commonly known by his religious title Aga Khan III, was the 48th Imam of the Nizariyya. He played an important role in British Indian politics.
Born to Aga Khan II in Karachi, Aga Khan II ...
*Richard C. Dawson
Richard Cecil "Dick" Dawson (1865 – 1955) was an Irish-born owner and trainer of racehorses.
From his home and racing stable in Cloghran, Dawson went to Lambourn, England in 1897 and set up shop at Whatcombe Stables in Berkshire near Wa ...
*The Tetrarch
The Tetrarch (1911–1935) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He was undefeated in a racing career of seven starts and was voted the best British-trained two-year-old of the 20th century according to the National Horse ...
References
{{Reflist
1921 racehorse births
1945 racehorse deaths
Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom
Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom
Thoroughbred family 9-c