Makfi (foaled 4 March 2007) is a British-bred, French-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 ...

racehorse 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 ...

and

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 ...

. In 2010 he won 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

Prix Jacques Le Marois The Prix Jacques Le Marois is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred colts and fillies aged three years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile ...

Background

Makfi's sire is

Irish 2,000 Guineas The Irish 2,000 Guineas is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is ...

and Prix Jacques Le Marois winner

Dubawi Dubawi (foaled 7 February 2002) is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire. Background Dubawi is a bay horse with no white markings bred in Ireland by Sheikh Mohammed's Darley Stud. He was one of the only crop of foals sired by Dubai ...

. Makfi was one of Dubawi's first crop of foals, which also included Poet's Voice and Monterosso. Makfi's dam, Dhelaal, is a daughter of

Green Desert ''Green Desert'' is the twenty-seventh major release and the fifteenth studio album by Electronic music, electronic artists Tangerine Dream. The music was recorded in Berlin in 1973, during a period when Peter Baumann had temporarily left Germany ...

and a half-sister of the

Cartier Champion Two-year-old Colt The Cartier Champion Two-year-old Colt is an award in European horse racing, founded in 1991, and sponsored by Cartier SA as part of the Cartier Racing Awards. The award winner is decided by points earned in group races plus the votes cast by Britis ...

Alhaarth Alhaarth (24 February 1993 – 29 July 2015) was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse and sire, bred in Ireland, but trained in the United Kingdom and Dubai during a racing career that lasted from 1995 to 1997. He was named European Champion Two- ...

. As a granddaughter of the broodmare Green Valley, Dhelaal was also closely related to

Green Dancer Green Dancer (14 April 1972 – 5 December 2000) was an American-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and stallion. A son of the British Tiple Crown winner Nijinsky, he won the French 2000 Guineas in 1975. Background A son of the Eng ...

Solemia Solemia (foaled 20 February 2008) is an Irish-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2012 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Before her win in the Arc, Solemia had won four of her twelve races, with her biggest win coming ...

and

Authorized Authorization or authorisation (see spelling differences) is the function of specifying access rights/privileges to resources, which is related to general information security and computer security, and to access control in particular. More for ...

. He went into training with Marcus Tregoning in England and was owned by his breeder Hamdan Al Maktoum. He was sold as an unraced two-year-old at the Tattersall's Horses in Training Sale in October 2009 at Newmarket.He was transferred to France and trained by Mikel Delzangles and owned by Mathieu Offenstadt.

Racing career

Makfi made his first start in 2009, winning a five-runner race at Fontainebleau. This was his only start as a two-year-old and was next seen easily winning the

Prix Djebel The Prix Djebel is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1,400 metres (about 7 furlongs) at Maisons ...

in April 2010. He then started the

at Newmarket as a 33/1 outsider. In the race jockey

Christophe Lemaire Christophe Patrice Lemaire (Japanese:, born 20 May 1979) is a French-born jockey. He has enjoyed much of his success on the Japanese flat racing circuit, with the most wins at Japan Racing Association racetracks for five consecutive years sinc ...

held Makfi up towards the rear of the field. He made progress thought the field with two

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 left to run and overtook leading Dick Turpin inside the final furlong. He went on to with the race by 1¼ lengths from Dick Turpin, with

Canford Cliffs Canford Cliffs is a suburb of Poole in Dorset, England. The neighbourhood lies on the English Channel coast midway between Poole and Bournemouth. To the southwest is Sandbanks which has some of the highest property values in the world; with Canf ...

a further ½ length back in third place. The pre-race favourite

St Nicholas Abbey St Nicholas Abbey is located in Saint Peter, Barbados, Saint Peter, Barbados, and is a Plantation complexes in the Southeastern United States#Plantation house, plantation house, museum and rum distillery. Colonel Benjamin Berringer built the hou ...

finished in sixth place. Makfi followed his 2000 Guineas success with a disappointing run in the

St James's Palace Stakes The St James's Palace Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 7 furlongs and 213 yards (1,603 metres). It is schedu ...

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 finished in seventh behind winner Canford Cliffs. He then faced seven rivals, including

Goldikova Goldikova (15 March 2005 – 5 January 2021) was a champion French Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Breeders' Cup Mile three times and was the 2010 European Horse of the Year. She was based in France, although she also raced in the United St ...

and

Paco Boy Paco Boy (foaled 24 March 2005) is a retired Irish thoroughbred racehorse who was trained by Richard Hannon Sr. He won three Group 1 races including Prix de la Forêt, Queen Anne Stakes and Lockinge Stakes. Paco Boy was known as a hold up horse ...

, in the

. He took the lead with half a furlong to run and ran on to win by 2½ lengths from 4/6 favourite Goldikova, with Paco Boy just behind her in third. Makfi returned to Ascot for his final race, the

Queen Elizabeth II Stakes The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is s ...

. He started as the even money favourite, but could only finish in fifth place, about three lengths behind winner Poet's Voice.

Assessment

Makfi was officially rated as the joint third best horse in the world in 2010, with a rating of 128. The only horses rated higher were

Harbinger A harbinger is a forerunner or forewarning, but may also refer to: Companies * Harbinger Corp., an Internet-oriented business * Harbinger Capital, a hedge fund * Harbinger Knowledge Products, an eLearning products and content services company ...

and

Blame Blame is the act of censuring, holding responsible, or making negative statements about an individual or group that their actions or inaction are socially or morally irresponsible, the opposite of praise. When someone is morally responsible for ...

, making Makfi the top miler in the world that year.

Stud career

After being treated for

ringworm Dermatophytosis, also known as ringworm, is a fungal infection of the skin. Typically it results in a red, itchy, scaly, circular rash. Hair loss may occur in the area affected. Symptoms begin four to fourteen days after exposure. Multiple a ...

in October 2010 Makfi was retired to Tweenhills Stud in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

. His 2012 fee was £25,000 and it remained the same for 2013. He has also been shuttled to stand in New Zealand during the Southern hemisphere breeding season. Makfi's first crop of foals included the

Poule d'Essai des Poulains Molof (Ampas, Poule, Powle-Ma) is a poorly documented Papuan language spoken by about 200 people in Molof village, Senggi District, Keerom Regency. Classification Wurm (1975) placed it as an independent branch of Trans–New Guinea, but Ross ...

winner

Make Believe Make believe, also known as pretend play, is a loosely structured form of play that generally includes role-play, object substitution and nonliteral behavior. What separates play from other daily activities is its fun and creative aspect rather t ...

. He stood at Westbury Stud from 2011 to 2016. In late 2014 he transferred to the Haras de Bonneval in France for the 2015 covering season as part of a deal involving the

Aga Khan Aga Khan ( fa, آقاخان, ar, آغا خان; also transliterated as ''Aqa Khan'' and ''Agha Khan'') is a title held by the Imām of the Nizari Ismāʿīli Shias. Since 1957, the holder of the title has been the 49th Imām, Prince Shah Karim ...

and Qatar Bloodstock.

Notable progeny

''c =

colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...

, f =

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 ...

'', g =

gelding A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...

'', m =

mare 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 ...

Pedigree

References

External links

Career 1-2-3 Colour Chart
– ''Makfi'' {{2000 Guineas winners 2007 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in France Thoroughbred family 16-c 2000 Guineas winners