MAKE BELIEVE x CONTRADICT I 16.1 1/2 hh I €17,500 Live Foal
I Presentation
If history repeats itself, Mishriff , who begins his stud career in France at Nurlan Bizakov’s Sumbe in 2024, will get a first-crop Classic winner.
Consider this remarkable streak of his sire line: Mishriff was a member of his sire Make Believe’s first crop and won the G1 Prix du Jockey-Club; Make Believe was from the first crop of the exported Makfi and won the G1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains; Makfi, who was in Dubawi ’s first crop, won the G1 2000 Guineas; and Dubawi, from the first and only crop of the Seeking the Gold champion miler Dubai Millenium, won the G1 Irish 2000 Guineas.
If the historical context isn’t convincing enough to suggest off-the-bat success for Mishriff, his pedigree, physique, and racecourse accomplishments are. He’s bred to be a stallion, as a physically impressive member of the powerful Dubawi line from the immediate family of top sires Invincible Spirit and Kodiak . After he won the $20 million Saudi Cup over 1800m on dirt, he was tabbed the best racehorse in the world by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities on its Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings.
Altogether, Mishriff, who stands 16.2h, won seven races from 21 starts and placed an additional eight times, earning €13,278,095 from ages two to five. One hallmark of his durable career for trainers John and Thady Gosden was his generosity; he always gave it his best shot, oftentimes in conditions that were not to his liking. He was best from 1600m to 2100m but won as far as 2400m at the highest level when taking the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic on turf, one start after defeating the best American dirt runners in the Saudi Cup on dirt.
He was a joint-champion European 3-year-old in 2020 and the champion older horse in Europe in 2021. He continued to race at age 5, placing in such prestigious Group 1 events as the Eclipse Stakes, Juddmonte International, and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. In short, he was genuine and top class.
I Pedigree
Dubawi, along with Frankel , is one of the two top stallions in Europe, and his line is flourishing with his first few established sons at stud – a terrific harbinger for Mishriff. Aside from the branch through Makfi, Dubawi’s young sons include Irish-based 2000 Guineas winner Night of Thunder , who stood for €100,000 in 2023 and has enjoyed phenomenal success since his first crop of runners raced in 2019; Irish-based Prix du Jockey-Club winner New Bay , who stood for €75,000 in 2023 and whose first crop raced in 2020; and French-based G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud winner and Prix du Jockey-Club runner-up Zarak , whose first runners also hit the racecourse in 2020 and whose fee last year was €60,000. Each of their service fees is a reflection of their success, and it goes without saying that each has sired multiple Group winners, including at the highest level.
In 2023, Dubawi’s English-based Too Darn Hot, a champion 2-year-old and champion miler at three, joined the fraternity with his first crop exploding on the scene. Already the sire of four Group winners, including G1 Moyglare Stud Stakes winner Fallen Angel, Too Darn Hot’s €40,000 fee last spring now appears to be a bargain as he lives up to his name.
Mishriff is a fourth-generation homebred for his owner/breeder Prince A.A. Faisal’s Nawara Stud, and his carefully curated tail-female line has produced some important names through the years. It’s also a lineage that isn’t saturated with the most prolific commercial stallions from the last few decades. Although he is 5x5 to Nijinsky, Mishriff’s pedigree doesn’t contain Sadler’s Wells or his sons, and Danzig appears only in Mishriff’s fifth generation through Green Desert. This makes him a perfect option for mares by these lines, particularly those that have Galileo and Danehill, both so ubiquitous in European pedigrees.
Mishriff’s dam, Contradict , by Raven’s Pass, has produced two other stakes horses: Listed winner Orbaan, by Invincible Spirit, a son of Green Desert; and multiple Group 3-placed Momkin, by Bated Breath, a son of Dansili. The next dam is Group 3 winner Acts of Grace, by Bahri. She is a daughter of the important G1 Prix de Diane winner and broodmare Rafha, by Kris.
Rafha produced four stakes winners and one stakes-placed runner. Her best was Invincible Spirit, a Group 1 winner on the track and a top-level stallion at stud. The Invincible Spirit line is now vigorously carrying forward through his Classic-winning son and outstanding stallion Kingman.
Rafha also is the dam of Group 3-placed Danehill horse Kodiac, another excellent stallion.
In profile, Mishriff somewhat resembles Sumbe’s recently late leading sire Le Havre, who was also a Prix du Jockey-Club winner. Le Havre traced to Blushing Groom through his exported sire Noverre, a son of Rahy. On the bottom of his pedigree, he was from the immediate family of excellent sire Polar Falcon and from the extended family of top racehorse and sire Sassafras. Among many others, Le Havre sired dual French Classic winner Avenir Certain from his first crop.
I Analysis
As noted above, Mishriff’s pedigree is conspicuously free of Sadler’s Wells, and this bodes well for him, especially as Rafha’s stakes-winning Danehill daughter Massarra has already shown an affinity for the line by producing five stakes winners by Galileo, including Group 2 winner and Classic-placed Gustav Klimt.
Moreover, Dubawi has 18 Group 1 winners with Sadler’s Wells in the pedigree, and, notably, four of them, including Too Darn Hot, are from mares by Singspiel, a grandson of Sadler’s Wells. Three, including Night of Thunder, are from mares by Galileo, and two others are from mares by sons of Galileo: 2000 Guineas winner Coroebus, whose dam is by Teofilo ; and Modern Games, who is from a New Approach mare.
How about Dubawi-line Group 1 winners with Danehill in the pedigree? There are already 10. Two of those have both Danehill and Galileo in the dam, and with so many mares sharing this combination, Mishriff will benefit.
And Dubawi with Danzig? There are 19 Group 1 winners bred this way. Additionally, Danzig can also be found in the pedigrees of two Group 1 winners by New Bay, two by Night of Thunder, and one by Too Darn Hot. The latter’s Group 1 winner, noted earlier, is from a mare by the Invincible Spirit horse Lawman , a Prix du Jockey-Club winner.
Breeding a mare by Invincible Spirit to Mishriff will result in 4x3 to Rafha, a generational distance of inbreeding that is statistically superior to 2x3, which is what Mishriff’s stakes-winning half-brother Orbaan is to Rafha. Orbaan, like Mishriff, was bred by Nawara, and it’s likely Prince Faisal will once again attempt this duplication to his blue-hen mare with a daughter of Invincible Spirit – and why not?
The options with Mishriff are plentiful, and that’s a sign for success.
Stay
tuned!
News
