On Bogdan Zientarski and Carl Raswan’s expedition to Syria and Iraq, to find horses for Prince Roman Sanguszko’s Gumniska Stud, one of their first stops was Egypt. There, they saw a number of horses from different studs and stables, including the Astraled son Rustem, the Crabbet-bred mare Bint Riyala, a grey son of the Sheykh Obeyd mare Serra, the dark chestnut Ibn Rabdan, and a desert-bred stallion, Schammar. They also toured the racing stables of Cairo, and found there a filly which Raswan thought very beautiful. He wrote about her in glowing terms to Prince Sanguszko, hoping for extra funds to buy her: From the beginning I said, that I do not expect to find a stallion or mare in Egypt (or Syria) which might “suit” Mr. Z. (& consequently you too). However, we “discovered” an unusual mare. – She seems to be the “sister” to Nedjari. A mare of the very same type & breeding. – From among several hundred (perhaps 600) horses which we have seen this one mare is outstanding. She is the type which, when brought to Poland, people will point to her & say: “What an Arab!” and neither Mr. Z. nor I would be…
Below is a photo of Amurath Sahib as a four-year-old, in racing condition. The picture comes from Jezdziec i Hodowca, Vol. 15 (36), 1936. In addition to being a racehorse himself, Amurath Sahib sired the Polish Derby winner Equifor, and the Polish Oaks winners Estokada and Adis Abeba. He was also fortunate enough to escape the Dresden firebombing that decimated the stallions of Janów Podlaski, as he was the mount of Dr Andrzej Krzysztalowicz, who had stayed behind to watch over the mares while the stallions were sent on ahead. None of his sons used for breeding – Arax, Equifor, and Gwarny – were asil, and only two of his daughters were, 25 Amurath Sahib, bred by Bábolna, and Arwila. While Amurath Sahib is still represented in pedigrees today, there is no asil descent left from him. [Edit: As R. J. Cadranell points out in the comments below, 25 Amurath Sahib still has asil descendants. Mea culpa.] His dam, Sahiba, was herself a good racehorse, with victory in the Sanguszko Prize (over 2,400m) as a three-year-old. She also won both the Polish Oaks and the Polish Derby. Her sire, Nana Sahib, was a grandson of Amurath 1881 Weil, so that…