New Stallion Series: Muhaarar

New to the stallion ranks in 2016 is the four-time Group 1 winning stallion Muhaarar, who joins Shadwell Stud’s roster in England for a fee of £30,000 (approx. $44,147US/€40,755).

Muhaarar’s promotional video

The 4-year-old Oasis Dream son made his debut in May of 2014 at Doncaster, winning by four lengths. After finishing third in two stakes that summer, including a Group 2, he finally broke through at the Group 2 level on Aug. 23 when he won the Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Gimcrack Stakes by a nose before a third behind Charming Thought in the Group 1 Vision.ae Middle Park Stakes to end his season.

In 2015, Muhaarar started his season in the Group 3 AON Greenham Stakes on April 18 over seven furlongs. Beating five group stakes winners in the contest, Muhaarar set a new course record when running down Estidhkaar (Dark Angel) to win by a neck with multiple Group 2 winner Ivawood (Zebedee) 4 ½ lengths back in third.

Muhaarar stretched out to a mile for the first time in his career in the Group 1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains, going a furlong farther than he had ever gone before. The race was the first time Muhaarar didn’t finish on the board with the colt finishing eighth of 18, 6 ¾ lengths behind Make Believe (Makfi). Not surprisingly, Muhaarar didn’t try the distance again.

But from there, Muhaarar went on a tour de force of the European sprint division.

First up was a start at Royal Ascot in the inaugural Group 1 Commonwealth Cup going six furlongs against 17 other horses. The £229,854 (approx. $336,494US/€310,997) race attracted 10 group stakes winners with Goken (Kendargent) leading until the final furlong when Muhaarar took over and stormed off to a 3 ¾ length victory.

Taking on older horses for the first time in the Group 1 Darley July Cup, Muhaarar faced a field that included 11 group stakes winners. Muhaarar had to put in a tough race with jockey Paul Hanagan starting to urge the colt more than two furlongs from the finish with Tropics getting first run. It was a desperate finish for both horses with Tropics attempting to hold Muhaarar off in the final strides but failing when Muhaarar beat him by a nose.

Returning to France for the first time since his eighth place finish, Muhaarar faced 11 horses going 6 ½ furlongs in the Group 1 LARC Prix Maurice de Gheest. The Spanish-bred Noozhoh Canarias (Caradak) led the field with the field working themselves out behind him. Muhaarar took a bit to pick up his speed but in the final furlong Hanagan was able to get him rolling to hold off the mare Esoterique (Danehill Dancer) with Gordon Lord Byron (Byron) a length back in third. With the victory, he became the first British-trained horse to win three Group 1 sprints in one year since Dayjur (Danzig) in 1990.


After a two month absence from the races, Muhaarar lined up against 19 other horses at Ascot Racecourse in the Group 1 QIPCO British Champions Sprint Stakes. The field didn’t have a chance when Hanagan shook up Muhaarar in the final furlong and the colt accelerated, winning by an easy two lengths over Twilight Son.

It had been announced in mid-July that Muhaarar would likely retire at the end of his 3-year-old year, a move that was confirmed after his win on British Champions day. Winning from 5 ½ furlongs to seven furlongs on anything from soft to good to firm ground during his career, Muhaarar earned £1,212,401 (approx. $1,783,835US/€1,647,820) and took home Cartier Champion Sprinter honors in 2015.

Muhaarar is by champion 2-year-old and 3-year-old champion sprinter Oasis Dream (Green Desert) who has sired 48 group stakes winners. Among the list of Oasis Dream’s Grade or Group 1 winners are six-time Group 1 winner Midday, Irish classic winner Power, Australian Group 1 winner Opinion and international graded stakes winner Tuscan Evening. Other notable group winners by the stallion are Cladocera, Frozen Power, Peace at Last, Sri Putra, Welwitschia, Gale Force Ten, Button Down and Visit.

By a sire-of-sires himself, Oasis Dream’s son Showcasing has indicated that Oasis Dream may follow down his sire’s path. Showcasing, whose first crop turned 3 in 2015, was the leading British second crop sire and sire of 2-year-olds in 2015 with 52 2-year-old winners in his first two crops. Among his top horses are United States graded stakes winner Prize Exhibit, New Zealand group stakes winner Showboy and European group winner Toocoolforschool.

Overall, Oasis Dream’s sons are still young with Power’s first foals hitting the track this year, Frankel’s half-brother Morpheus’ first foals arriving in 2016, and Fountain of Youth and Muhaarar among his sons to retire in 2016.

Morpheus
Muhaarar is one of seven foals out of the Linamix mare Tahrir, whose five foals to race have all won. His half-sister Sajwah (Exceed and Excel) won the Dick Poole Fillies’ Stakes in 2011 with two other sibling hitting the board in stakes races. Tahrir has a 2-year-old colt by Dubawi named Mootaharer and a yearling colt by the stallion

Tahrir is out of the stakes winning Miss Sacha (Last Tycoon) who produced the multiple stakes wining full brother to Tahrir, Mister Charm, and Group 3 winner Mister Sacha (Tiger Hill) in addition to three other winners with another full brother to Tahrir winning two races.

Miss Sacha’s dam Heaven High (High Line), who produced stakes winner Pinta (Ahonoora) produced seven winners with Pinta and another daughter responsible for stakes placed horses. Pinta’s daughter produced one of those stakes winners in addition to being the granddam of another.

Muhaarar’s fourth dam, Triumphant, produced the multiple highweighted, Grade 1 winner Timarida (Kaleaglow) who won the Grade 1 Beverly D. Stakes in the United States, Group 1 Grosser Dallmayr-Preis-Bayerisches Zuchtrennen in Germany and Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes in Ireland. After her racing career, Timarida did well as a broodmare, producing Group 3 winner Timarwa (Daylami) and stakes placed Timabiyra (Linamix). Triumphant’s unraced daughter Timiya (High Top) produced two-time Scandinavian champion Heavy Loaded (Pips Pride).

Muhaarar is one of three new stallions in Europe listed on Weatherbys at a fee of £30,000 (approx. $43,918US/€40,590) or more in 2016 with Golden Horn and Gleneagles.

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