Mesaoud

Mesaoud, an Arabian stallion, foaled 1887, was one of the foundation sires of the Crabbet Arabian Stud in England. Bred in Egypt by Ali Pasha Sherif, he was imported to England by Wilfred and Lady Anne Blunt in 1891. He is recognized as an Al Khamsa Arabian, with verifiable lineage tracing to the Bedouin of the desert.

He was a chestnut stallion with brilliant white markings, noted for his correct conformation, good Arabian type and powerful build. His markings included a blaze, three full stockings with a right front partial stocking, and slight roaning to the body with scattered white spots on the body and on the head under the chin and jowl. The body white suggests that he had sabino genetics, and he is thought to be a primary source for that coloration when it appears in Arabians today.

Background

The Blunts purchased Mesaoud in protracted negotiations with the aging Ali Pasha Sherif during 1888-1889. They finally completed the purchase of him as a two-year-old, along with the stallion Merzuk and the mare Khatila. In the two-year period before being shipped to England, he ran in the Cairo Eclipse Stakes at Ghezireh, which covered a distance of over a mile and a half. Victim of a bad start, he finished seventh out of ten horses.