Mumtaz Mahal (GB)
1921 – February 1945
The Tetrarch (IRE) x Lady Josephine (GB), by Sundridge (GB)
Family 9-c
“GENETIC GEM”
1921 – February 1945
The Tetrarch (IRE) x Lady Josephine (GB), by Sundridge (GB)
Family 9-c
“GENETIC GEM”
Still widely regarded as one of the fastest fillies ever seen on the English turf, Mumtaz Mahal was the true daughter of her brilliant sire, The Tetrarch, in both her coat color and her racing ability. The “Flying Filly” was the first champion campaigned by the third Aga Khan and as a broodmare became the foundation of much of his later success as a breeder-owner. Her influence on international breeding can scarcely be overstated, ranking her with such epochal broodmares of the twentieth century as Plucky Liege, Aloe, and La Troienne. In the United States, she is most remembered as the granddam or great-granddam of American champion sires Nasrullah and Mahmoud and of the highly influential stallion Royal Charger.
Race record
10 starts, 7 wins, 2 seconds, 0 thirds, £13,933
1923:
1924:
Honors
English champion 2-year-old filly (1923)
Assessments
Highweighted on the Free Handicap for English 2-year-olds of both sexes in 1921, two pounds above the top-rated colt, her stablemate Diophon.
As an individual
A gray mare, Mumtaz Mahal was said to have great quality and nearly perfect conformation. Like her sire, she had a coat splashed with white spots. Blessed with blazing speed, she was as game as one could ask but did not really stay beyond 6 furlongs, and she consistently transmitted speed to her foals. She was an excellent mover at all her paces.
As a producer
Designated as a Reine-de-Course by pedigree analyst Ellen Parker, Mumtaz Mahal produced nine named foals. Her important foals are as follow:
Connections
Mumtaz Mahal was bred by Lady Sykes of Sledmere and was sold to the third Aga Khan for 9,100 guineas as a yearling through the 1922 Doncaster sales. She was trained by Richard C. “Dick” Dawson.
Pedigree notes
Mumtaz Mahal is inbred 5x5x5 to 1868 Goodwood Cup winner Speculum. She is a half sister to 1922 Jockey Club Stakes winner Lady Juror (by Son-in-Law), dam of the brilliant miler and 1950 English/Irish champion sire Fair Trial and of 1935 English champion 2-year-old filly Sansonnet (by Sansovino), dam in turn of 1946 English champion 2-year-old male and important sire Tudor Minstrel (by Owen Tudor), 1945 English champion 2-year-old filly Neolight (by Nearco; dam of stakes winner Minaret, by Umidwar, and second dam of 1957 Irish St. Leger winner Ommeyad), 1952 Criterion Stakes winner Cyrus the Great (by Tehran), and minor stakes winner Starlet II (by Nearula). Lady Juror is also the dam of 1931 July Stakes winner Riot (by Colorado), dam in turn of 1941 Oaks Stakes winner Commotion (by Mieuxcé) and, through her, the second dam of unbeaten Combat; of 1949 St. James’s Palace Stakes winner Faux Tirage, the champion New Zealand sire of 1957/58; and of Aristophanes, the Argentine champion sire of 1960. In addition, Lady Juror produced 1928 Gimcrack Stakes winner The Black Abbot (by Abbots Trace), 1930 Queen Anne Stakes winner The Recorder (by Captain Cuttle), minor stakes winner and 1928 One Thousand Guineas runner-up Jurisdiction (by Abbots Trace), and Dissenter (by Cameronian), dam of 1957 Prix Royal-Oak (French St. Leger) winner Scot (by Souverain).
Also a half sister to Joyous (by Gay Crusader), whose granddaughter Grilse was the 1959 New Zealand Broodmare of the Year, Mumtaz Mahal is out of Lady Josephine, a speedy filly who did not stay beyond 5 furlongs but was second-ranked among the English juvenile fillies of her year. She in turn was produced from Americus Girl, generally considered the champion Irish juvenile filly of 1907. Produced from the Gallinule mare Palotta, Americus Girl was sired by Americus, a tough American-bred sprinter who raced in the United States under the name of “Rey del Carreras” and was a tail-male descendant of the great American racer and sire Lexington.
Mumtaz Mahal’s female line traces back to Spitfire, a daughter of 1794 St. Leger Stakes winner Beningbrough foaled in 1800. Beyond that, the lineage is uncertain, for although Spitfire’s dam, a daughter of Young Sir Peter, was originally said to be out of a daughter of Engineer whose tail-female line traces back to the foundation mare of Family 9-c, the Crab mare, later editions of the General Stud Book indicate that the pedigree of Spitfire’s dam was fabricated.
Fun facts
Last updated: February 8, 2025
Race record
10 starts, 7 wins, 2 seconds, 0 thirds, £13,933
1923:
- Won Spring Stakes (ENG, 5FT, Newmarket; new course record :57-4/5)
- Won Queen Mary Stakes (ENG, 5FT, Ascot)
- Won National Breeders' Produce Stakes (ENG, Sandown)
- Won Molecomb Stakes (ENG, 5FT, Goodwood)
- Won Champagne Stakes (ENG, 6FT, Doncaster)
- 2nd Imperial Produce Stakes (ENG, 6FT, Kempton)
1924:
- Won King George Stakes (ENG, 6FT, Goodwood)
- Won Nunthorpe Stakes (ENG, 5.FT, York)
- 2nd One Thousand Guineas (ENG, 8FT, Newmarket)
Honors
English champion 2-year-old filly (1923)
Assessments
Highweighted on the Free Handicap for English 2-year-olds of both sexes in 1921, two pounds above the top-rated colt, her stablemate Diophon.
As an individual
A gray mare, Mumtaz Mahal was said to have great quality and nearly perfect conformation. Like her sire, she had a coat splashed with white spots. Blessed with blazing speed, she was as game as one could ask but did not really stay beyond 6 furlongs, and she consistently transmitted speed to her foals. She was an excellent mover at all her paces.
As a producer
Designated as a Reine-de-Course by pedigree analyst Ellen Parker, Mumtaz Mahal produced nine named foals. Her important foals are as follow:
- Mah Mahal.(1928, by Gainsborough) won two races. She is the dam of 1936 Derby Stakes winner Mahmoud (by Blenheim II), who led the American general sire list in 1946 and the American broodmare sire list in 1957, and of Mah Iran (by Bahram), ranked second among English juvenile fillies of 1941. She also produced English stakes winner Pherozshah (by Pharos), a sire of some influence in England and New Zealand, the good stakes winner Khan Bahadur (by Blenheim II), and the good Indian stakes winner Golden Fawn (by Bahram). She is the second dam of 1948 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Migoli and the good stakes winner Moondust II. In addition, Mah Mahal is the third dam of 1959 English Horse of the Year Petite Etoile and 1962 Prix Morny winner Darannour. Her more distant descendants include 2008 European Horse of the Year Zarkava, 2010/11 South African Horse of the Year Igugu, 1989 Brazilian champion 3-year-old filly Mamma Rosita, 1981 Venezuelan champion 2-year-old male Pudiente, and 1998 Prix de Diane Hermes (French Oaks, FR-G1) and Prix Saint-Alary (FR-G1) winner Zainta.
- Furrokh Siyar (1929, by Colorado) won two minor stakes races in France and proved a useful sire of sprinters in Ireland.
- Badruddin (1931, by Blandford) won the 1934 Sussex Stakes and several other stakes events. He sired the important broodmare Perfume II while standing in France and was later exported to Argentina, where he ranked four times among the country’s top 10 sires.
- Mumtaz Begum (1932, by Blenheim II) won two of her eight starts. She is the dam of Nasrullah (by Nearco), the top-rated English 2-year-old male of his crop and a five-time champion sire in the United States; he also led the English/Irish sire list in 1951. Mumtaz Begum also foaled the stakes winners Rivaz, Malindi, and Nizami II (all by Nearco) and in addition is the dam of 1941 Irish champion 2-year-old filly Dodoma II (by Dastur) and her stakes-winning full sister Darbhanga. Mumtaz Begum is the second dam of 1956 King’s Stand Stakes winner Palariva, the top juvenile fillies Diableretta and Tessa Gillian, two-time French champion sire Prince Taj, the important sire Royal Charger, the high-class American filly Spicy Living, and 1952 Cherry Hinton Stakes winner Omelia II. In addition, Mumtaz Begum is the third dam of 1958 French champion 2-year-old filly Ginetta, 1063 Charles H. Strub Stakes winner Drin, 1960 Gimcrack Stakes winner Test Case, and 1963 Richmond Stakes Gentle Art. Her more distant descendants include 1973 French champion miler Kalamoun, 1981 English and Irish champion 3-year-old male Shergar, 1985 English champion 3-year-old filly Oh So Sharp, 1988 American champion 3-year-old male Risen Star, and two-time New Zealand champion sire Famous Star.
- Rustom Mahal (1934, by Rustom Pasha) never raced but is the dam of 1948 English champion 2-year-old male Abernant (by Owen Tudor), still widely considered the best English sprinter of the 20th century. Her more distant descendants include multiple Group 1 winner Glenfiddich.
- Mirza II (1935, by Blenheim II) won the 1937 July Stakes and several other good juvenile races but did not stay beyond 6 furlongs. His most important contribution to the Thoroughbred was his stakes-winning daughter Skylarking II, who founded an important branch of Bruce Lowe Family 12-c.
Connections
Mumtaz Mahal was bred by Lady Sykes of Sledmere and was sold to the third Aga Khan for 9,100 guineas as a yearling through the 1922 Doncaster sales. She was trained by Richard C. “Dick” Dawson.
Pedigree notes
Mumtaz Mahal is inbred 5x5x5 to 1868 Goodwood Cup winner Speculum. She is a half sister to 1922 Jockey Club Stakes winner Lady Juror (by Son-in-Law), dam of the brilliant miler and 1950 English/Irish champion sire Fair Trial and of 1935 English champion 2-year-old filly Sansonnet (by Sansovino), dam in turn of 1946 English champion 2-year-old male and important sire Tudor Minstrel (by Owen Tudor), 1945 English champion 2-year-old filly Neolight (by Nearco; dam of stakes winner Minaret, by Umidwar, and second dam of 1957 Irish St. Leger winner Ommeyad), 1952 Criterion Stakes winner Cyrus the Great (by Tehran), and minor stakes winner Starlet II (by Nearula). Lady Juror is also the dam of 1931 July Stakes winner Riot (by Colorado), dam in turn of 1941 Oaks Stakes winner Commotion (by Mieuxcé) and, through her, the second dam of unbeaten Combat; of 1949 St. James’s Palace Stakes winner Faux Tirage, the champion New Zealand sire of 1957/58; and of Aristophanes, the Argentine champion sire of 1960. In addition, Lady Juror produced 1928 Gimcrack Stakes winner The Black Abbot (by Abbots Trace), 1930 Queen Anne Stakes winner The Recorder (by Captain Cuttle), minor stakes winner and 1928 One Thousand Guineas runner-up Jurisdiction (by Abbots Trace), and Dissenter (by Cameronian), dam of 1957 Prix Royal-Oak (French St. Leger) winner Scot (by Souverain).
Also a half sister to Joyous (by Gay Crusader), whose granddaughter Grilse was the 1959 New Zealand Broodmare of the Year, Mumtaz Mahal is out of Lady Josephine, a speedy filly who did not stay beyond 5 furlongs but was second-ranked among the English juvenile fillies of her year. She in turn was produced from Americus Girl, generally considered the champion Irish juvenile filly of 1907. Produced from the Gallinule mare Palotta, Americus Girl was sired by Americus, a tough American-bred sprinter who raced in the United States under the name of “Rey del Carreras” and was a tail-male descendant of the great American racer and sire Lexington.
Mumtaz Mahal’s female line traces back to Spitfire, a daughter of 1794 St. Leger Stakes winner Beningbrough foaled in 1800. Beyond that, the lineage is uncertain, for although Spitfire’s dam, a daughter of Young Sir Peter, was originally said to be out of a daughter of Engineer whose tail-female line traces back to the foundation mare of Family 9-c, the Crab mare, later editions of the General Stud Book indicate that the pedigree of Spitfire’s dam was fabricated.
Fun facts
- Mumtaz Mahal was named for the favorite wife of the 17th-century Mughul (Moghul, Mogul) ruler Shah Jehan, who built the Taj Mahal as a tomb and memorial for his beloved.
- Mumtaz Mahal was familiarly known as “Mumty.”
- At the time of her sale, Mumtaz Mahal was the second-highest-priced filly ever sold at public auction.
- Although most of the Aga Khan’s bloodstock at Haras Marly-La-Ville in Normandy was seized by the Nazis in 1940 and sent to Germany, Mumtaz Mahal was left untouched, possibly because of her age as she was then 19.
Last updated: February 8, 2025