Mtoto (1 April 1983 – 24 May 2011) 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. In a career which lasted from 1985 until 1988, he ran ten times and won seven races. He showed some promise as three-year-old in 1986, but emerged as a top-class horse in 1987 when he defeated The Derby winner Reference Point in the

Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown P ...

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 ...

. In 1988, he was the dominant middle-distance horse in Britain, winning a second Eclipse Stakes and taking the

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot o ...

Background

Bred by John L. Moore, Mtoto was a bay horse with a white blaze. He was sired by the 1967 British Horse of the Year Busted out of the French mare Amazer.

Racing career

He recovered so well from the foot problems which dogged his early career that when he went to stud, he did so as the winner of the

, and double winner of both the

Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown P ...

and

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 ...

. He very nearly added the

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 ...

to this list too. Mtoto got off to a slow start on the track. By the end of his three-year-old campaign, he had won only once, and that was a small maiden race at

Haydock Park Haydock Park Racecourse is a racecourse in Merseyside, North West England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, the racecourse is set in an area of parkland bounded by the towns of Haydock to the west, Ashton-in-Makerfield ...

. His first important success came as a four-year-old in the

Brigadier Gerard Stakes The Brigadier Gerard 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 1 mile 1 furlong and 209 yards (), and i ...

Sandown Park Sandown Park is a horse racing course and leisure venue in Esher, Surrey, England, located in the outer suburbs of London. It hosts 5 Grade One National Hunt races and one Group 1 flat race, the Eclipse Stakes. It regularly has horse rac ...

. In his final year, 1988, he ended a previously unbeaten season with an unlucky, fast closing neck second to

Tony Bin Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

in the Arc. Jockey Michael Roberts was blamed by many for poor positioning in this final race, Mtoto rounding the home turn into a short straight behind a wall of horses, in one of the largest Arc fields ever assembled.

Stud career

Mtoto stood at Aston Upthorpe Stud at a fee of £18,000, where he sired

Shaamit Shaamit (1993–2001) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred race horse and sire. In a career which lasted from September 1995 to October 1996, he ran six times and won twice. He was the winner of the Epsom Derby in 1996. He was ...

Celeric Celeric () is a retired, British Thoroughbred racehorse. He improved from running in minor handicaps to Group One level, and recorded his most important win in the 1997 Ascot Gold Cup. In the same year he was named European Champion Stayer a ...

Serious Attitude Serious Attitude (23 March 2006 – 25 April 2019) was an Irish-bred British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. A specialist sprinter, she won five of her twelve races in a racing career which lasted from August 2008 until Octobe ...

and many other horses including Presenting, Arbatax and Maylane. He was retired from stud duties in 2006 and spent his retirement at Aston Upthorpe alongside Zilzal. Mtoto is grandsire to the 2008 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner

Denman Denman may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places * Denman Glacier, near Antarctica * Denman Shire, New South Wales, Australia ** Denman, New South Wales, a town in the Hunter Valley of Australia * Denman Island, one of the Gulf Islands of British Columbia, Can ...

and 2011 Grand National winner

Ballabriggs Ballabriggs (foaled 20 April 2001) is a retired Grand National-winning National Hunt racehorse trained by Donald McCain, Jr. in Cholmondeley, Cheshire and owned by Trevor Hemmings. Racing career Ballabriggs' racecourse debut was in a 2-mile N ...

. On 24 May 2011 it was announced that Mtoto had died aged 28. Later taken as the name of a restored steam tractor (i.e. traction engine) built by John Fowler (Leeds).

Pedigree

References

* The Complete Encyclopedia of Horse Racing - written by Bill Mooney and George Ennor
Mtoto's Racing Career
Galopp-Sieger.de
Mtoto's Progeny
Galopp-Sieger.de 1983 racehorse births 2011 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 1-k King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winners {{racehorse-stub