Saad II, Kuhaylan Khdili, Syria
I have written frequently about this horse. In my opinion, Saad II was one of the three best sons of al-Aawar. He was out of a grand mare, Leelas, a Kuhaylah Khdiliyah of ‘Abbud al-‘Ali al-‘Amud of the ‘Aqaydat. That strain harked back to the Kuhaylaat al-‘Ajuz of the Khdilat section of the Fada’an. It was held in high esteem by all the Bedouins across Arabia. Indeed, I have rarely seen such unanimity about a strain. I took these pictures at Mustafa al-Jabri’s farm in 1997. Saad II was in poor condition then.
My father, who really had an eye for picking good stallions for his mares, thought the world of him. He sent his favorite mare, a bay Saqlawiyah Sha’ifyah of Ibn Bisra from Rayak, Lebanon all the way to Aleppo, Syria, to be bred to him. She produced that gorgeous colt, below. Photos at the farm of Michel Pharaon, then leased by Husayn Nasser. I never knew what happened to him. My father probably gave him away to someone.
Easy to see what drew you to your DA Ginger Moon.
What a lovely colt! I imagine Saad II was spectacular in his prime – as I was once told, when a horse is in poor condition, you can see their structure more clearly, and Saad looks pretty well put together to me.