Another photo of SAFRAN (*Shahwan x Safra), Hamdani Simri

          An 1893 grey Hamdani Simri stallion. His dam, Safra, was by the Ali Pasha Sharif stallion Shueyman and out of the Mahmud Bey-Ghezireh mare Sobha. His sire, *Shahwan, has been featured on this blog before, and you can read about him here. Safran was used by the Blunts for breeding, although his influence ended up being pretty much negligible, and he was sold at the 1898 Crabbet Park sale. He had actually been bred to his 2nd dam, Sobha, who produced a grey colt in 1899, “…died immediately, a loss as [Safran] had been sold in 1898.” A description of him, Country Life Illustrated, 7 August 1897: “…but the pick of the basket was a really beautiful four year old named Safran, by Shahwan – Safra (Hamdani Simri). He is quite a pony, only 14h., I think , but a perfect little gentleman, with wonderful power and substance for his size, on the shortest of legs, with long sloping shoulders, short powerful back and loins, the most bloodlike head and neck imaginable, and all quality. He is a perfect little picture, and worth a big price, if only to look at, though I was told…