The Origin of Speed: The Tetrarch and Mumtaz Mahal

The Origin of Speed: The Tetrarch and Mumtaz Mahal

The Tetrarch, aka “the Spotted Wonder” or the “Rocking Horse” because of his appperance, only raced as a two-year-old, but the impression he left was of unlimited speed and untested talent. At stud, the big, flashy grey proved a successful stallion, although his infertility once again left horsemen wondering what could have been. Despite this, The Tetrarch’s influence of brilliant speed helped create an international dynasty of stallions, keeping his name alive through the generations.

Racing Career

There was a brief moment in the saddling paddock at Newmarket on April 17, 1913 when racegoers made a joke of the gangly grey colt who was speckled black and white like a child’s rocking horse. The laughter dissolved into awe when The Tetrarch, who went off at 5-1 odds (third choice in the betting), exploded away from his 22 rivals to win his debut, a maiden two-year old race, by four lengths “in a canter.” The crowd knew they had seen something out of the ordinary; they just didn’t know how exceptional he would prove to be.

The Tetrarch would go on to have the kind of campaign that won him Timeform’s title of two-year-old of his century. His open length winning performances were awe inspiring. In the words of his rider Stephen Donoghue  ‘To be on him was like riding a creature that combined the power of an elephant with the speed of a greyhound. His trainer Atty Persse said ‘I don’t think he would ever have been beaten, over any distance. He was a freak and there will never be another like him.’  Persse also said “His development in every respect was abnormal. He was a very strong-shouldered horse, possessed of a tremendous long rein, with a wonderful hind leg which gave him that remarkable leverage. His action was remarkable. When he galloped his back seemed to get shorter and his legs longer. That was due to extraordinary hind leverage; his hind legs seemed to project right out in front of his forelegs.”

After reeling off 6 more show stopping wins in a row The Tetrarch injured himself during a morning jog (much the way Big Brown did) striking the off fore with a hind leg, something he was prone to do as a result of an unusually long overstride. The very elements of his gait that his trainer had praised for creating his freakishness also would be his undoing.  Britain’s two year old champion colt was put away for the season and the injury was allowed to heal. But The Tetrarch never returned to the track because just before he was ready to begin his three year old campaign he once again clipped himself in training. This time the resulting injury was career ending. The Tetrach was retired to stud finishing his Racing career an undefeated 7-7. .

The Tetrarch in The Stud

The Tetrarch, sired a mere 130 foals from 11 crops between 1916 and 1926. The decade of work would be a large single season crop for modern breeding giants like Storm Cat or AP Indy. The Tetrarch however suffered from low libido and had fertility issues. From only 130 foals, The Tetrarch forged an impressive but confusing stud record. As one of the best two-year-olds of all time, it wasn’t surprising that he also sired a string of outstanding two-year-olds and sprinters, including champions Tetratema, Mumtaz Mahal and The Satrap, but he went beyond that and also sired the staying winners of the St. Leger three times, and Irish Oaks once. After becoming completely infertile 10 years later he was pensioned. One of the most influential sires of all-time spent the rest of his days making himself useful, often being ridden to the local village to pick up mail and run other errands. The Tetrarch died at Ballylinch Stud on August 8, 1935 at the age of 24, and is buried there under a stone with a plaque denoting his achievements.

Almost a century later, the world still remembers The Tetrarch for his brilliant speed, and the many unanswered questions left with his early retirement from racing. As a stallion, he left an extensive legacy and his progeny are at the root of champion turf lines including Fairway’s and Palestine’s. His daughter Herodias gave us Cosmic Bomb and Prince John. His son Ethnarch’s daughters can be found in the lines of Blushing Groom, Mill Reef and Khaled. For our purposes we will follow another of his family trees descendant from one of his daughters. It is perhaps his most important line and if The Tetrarch had only sired Mumtaz Mahal, it would have been enough to earn his way into horse racing lore forever.

Mumtaz Mahal

There’s no doubt that The Tetrarch’s best runner and most important offspring was “the Flying Filly,” MUMTAZ MAHAL. Mumtaz Mahal was purchased as a yearling by the Aga Khan for a near record 9,100 guineas but unlike the Green Monkey debacle this huge sale price was worth every nickel. The grey filly started six times at two and won all but the last of them setting a course record or two along the way. Her three year old campaign was disappointing and she struggled at longer distances before returning triumphantly to sprints to win her final two races before retirement. But while her racing career only netted 14 thousand pounds she was worth her weight in gold as a broodmare. The daughter of The Tetrarch, had many great running foals and scores of great grand progeny, winning countless big races. From a modern perspective though it is two of her daughters performance as broodmares that keeps this family fresh in our minds. The first of these famous daughters, Mah Mahal who gave us Mahmoud.  Her English Derby winning son also had great success at stud. He is the maternal grand father of the Northern Dancer and Halo lines through his daughter Al Mahmoud (mother of Cosmah and Natlama).

    Halo gave us Grade 1 winners Devil’s Bag, Sunny’s Halo, Jolies Halo, Lively One, triple crown winning filly Goodbye Halo and the legendary Sunday Silence. He also begot fine sires Southern Halo and Saint Ballado amongst a host of others. I am not going to go into Northern Dancer’s career at stud other than to say he is greatest sire of all time.

   The other Muhtaz Mahal daughter named Mumtaz Begum, was mother to Nasrullah (also Malindi and grand dam to Royal Charger), the father of the Bold Ruler line. Bold Ruler, a Preakness winner and champion three year old in his own right, sired 21 G1 winners including 11 champions.  Lamb Chop, Successor, Wajima, Queen of the Stage and the incomparable Secretariat were among them. He was also a notable sire of sires, as the grandsire of Bold Forbes, Foolish Pleasure, Honest Pleasure, Hall of Fame fillies Ruffian and Bold ‘n Determined as well as Spectacular Bid. He is also great-grandsire of Seattle Slew. He was the Leading sire in North America for seven straight years between 1963 and 1969.

Halo, Bold Ruler and of course Northern Dancer are three core horses that can be found in nearly every modern horse on the race track. If you include the fact that Mr. Prospector’s mare Gold Digger is a Grand Daughter of Nasrullah, you realize you’d be hard pressed to name a good modern horse that does not have some of this blood line coursing through it somewhere. So remember the nect time you are enjoying the racing game how much you owe to the “Rocking Horse” The Tetrarch and his daughter the Flying Filly Mumtaz Mahal.

Sources: tb heritage, wikipedia, pedigree queery, horseracinghistory.com and bloodhorse.com