Rose of Jericho in Australia

The caption says Rose of Jericho and Dahna. Both mares were bred at the Crabbet Farm and then exported to Australia to live at the Quambi Springs Stud owned by Sir James Penn Boucaut. Rose of Jericho and Dahna, were both in 1891, and had foals on the ground as early as 1893. Dahna had 7 foals by Rafyk – 10 in total – whereas Rose of Jericho had at least 11 foals by Rafyk in her time in Australia – including Bedaween, the “Grand National Champion of Australia,” and his younger brothers, Zubeir and Suleiman – shown below.

Zubeir, in particular, was a rather successful sire, breeding not only pure Arabian get but also horses suitable for the colonial life of Australians in the early 20th century. He was purchased by Mr. Warburton of Northern Australia. I was fortunate enough through the power of the internet to have a copy of his stud listing sent to me, which you can see below —

It is from Zubeir that we derive the mystery of Minaret. Michael Bowling wrote a wonder article on this a while back, but to rehash: with any familiarity with the story of the Crabbet Stud, you’ll know that for some time the stud struggled financially to stay afloat, resulting in the dispersal of quite a few horses across the globe – primarily the United States, South Africa, and Australia. When Lady Wentworth assumed control of the stud and hit a windfall inheritance, she sought to bring a lot of these horses – or at least their offspring and therefore their genetics – back to the stud. Rafyk was no exception, but in 1924, it wasn’t possible to repatriate Rafyk. He was, in fact, dead. James Boucat had in his old age liquidated much of his breeding stock, and in a correspondence with the Blunts he wrote, “I miss dear old Rafyk very much. He was more kindly in his nature and much more sensible than many Christians.” Instead, she seems to have purchased MINARET, who was listed thusly in the 1924 Crabbet brochure:

As you can see, Minaret is listed as being by Zubeir and out of Abdul – which is surely a mistake, as Dahna’s foal Abdul was a stallion and not a mare. Only one of many mysteries surrounding this horse.

In any case, it would appear that Rose of Jericho had at least three other foals outside of the 11 with Rafyk – at least two foals by RATAPLAN and at least one foal by AZREK while at the Crabbet Stud in England, for a total of 14 foals altogether. The fecundity of the Rodania line was strong with this mare, as well, and I think she has well-earned the title of a being a broodmare supreme.