The Power of Assy

By Samantha Mattocks

11 October 2016

The Power of Assy

2009 Grey Stallion

Height: 1.64m (tall for an Arabian horse)

Well balanced and size is in portion, Athletic, powerful, muscular which gives him his speed

“Assy, is the best horse I have ever trained” says Trainer Julian Smart.

Assy, owned by Al Shahania Stud in Qatar is already one of the big names in the racing world and is set to become a truly global sire in the coming year, thanks to the supreme generosity of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Thani. In a move rarely seen in the world of Arabian horse breeding, H.H. Sheikh Mohammed is offering Assy at stud in 2017 – free of charge.

Foaled in 2009, Assy has an outstanding pedigree, his sire being the great Amer (Wafi x Bushra by Lahoom), sire of over 90 Group winners and sire of Group 1 producing stallions including, Mared Al Sahra, Dahess, Majd Al Arab, Nizam and AF Albahar. Amer won nine races from 13 career starts including some of the most coveted races worldwide. Amer is, without question, one of the leading sires of Group 1 winners around the world.

The 1999 mare, Margouia is Assy’s dam. Also owned by Al Shahania Stud, Margouia was lightly raced, taking two wins and three seconds, before turning her attention to stud duties. Her sire is the great French racehorse, Tidjani (Flipper x Managhi by Saint Laurent), a big winner across the Emirates, while Margouia is out of Margau, a special mare that combines the lines of her sire, the great Manganate (Saint Laurent x Mandragore by Dragon) with those of her dam, Mandore (Grabiec x Mandarine III by Dragon), direct family of great race horses including Dormane, Djendel, Djamel, Madjel and Mangadore.

Assy has won nine races from 11 career starts, including the very prestigious Group 1 H.H. The Emirs Sword in 2014, raced on his home turf at the Qatar Equestrian Club. Assy, a powerful grey stallion also won the Qatar Gold Sword that same year and in 2013, Assy took home the Group 1 H.H. The Emirs Trophy L/B P/A title.

From a riders prospective “Assy is very powerful all round horse. I have never ridden an Arabian horse that can push from behind and reaches out for the next ground to come, Assy through his lungs and muscles can produce stamina and lots of speed, he has the heart of a racehorse and in two words is a “War Horse” says rider and former assistant trainer Pierre Deymonaz.

With such a proven pedigree, as well as the Group 1 wins to his name, Assy is an exciting prospect for racehorse breeders around the world. The generosity in H.H. Sheikh Mohammed in offering Assy to breeders for free is exceptional, and we can all eagerly await the results of this breeding gift from 2018 and beyond.