Video Focus: Alaa el Din

Alaa El Din was a chestnut son of Nazeer, foaled in 1956, out of the Shaloul daughter, Kateefa.  Kateefa was a daughter of Bint Rissala (Ibn Yashmak x Risala). Through her tail female line, Kateefa traces through Ridaa to Rose of Sharon, a Rodania daughter.

In Egypt, Alaa El Din was a successful race horse and a sire of race winners. Alaa el Din ran a total of 6 races, winning 1 race, placing 2nd in another, 3rd in only 1 race and placing 4th in the balance of races. His sons *Farazdac (x Farasha) won 3 races out of 16 and Kased Kheir (x Sherifa) won 3 races out of 8. His daughter, Fayrooz (x Mouna) raced 5 times, winning 1 of those races. *Farazdac's full brother, *Faleh (a Legion of Merit winner, winning two National Championships in Native Costume and participating in a 100 mile endurance race), sired the extremely successful racehorse: Asjah Ibn Faleh (x*Dawlat), an IAHA Racing Colt of the Year(1977) and Race Horse of the Year (1980), in addition to wins in the show ring in English Pleasure, Native Costume and Halter. Asjah Ibn Faleh raced a total of 30 races, winning almost half of these, including the 1977 IAHA Derby. He, in turn also sired race horses, Asjahs Black Jewel and Asjahs Dominion, both out of the Ansata Halima Son daughter, Ansata Jumana. In Germany, the Alaa El Din sons: Sarwat and Sawlagan were talented, athletic horses, participating in demanding, athletic competitions at an age when most horses have been retired and no longer ridden. Alaa El Din was so successful in passing his athletic ability to his get, that the breeders in Poland expressed a very strong desire in purchasing him, for use in their breeding program.

The video, posted on You Tube by Fahad Alazmi (thank you Fahad) goes well beyond any photo that I have ever seen of Alaa el Din, in presenting a longer, deeper, more radiator-like athletic build, that makes one horse more successful on the racetrack than another. For this reason dear reader, I thought it was very important to post the video here, to further the understanding of an important foundation horse like Alaa el Din. For me, it brings closure in answering long-running questions, like for example, the phenotype of the stallion, *Farazdac. Now, it makes sense and I understand. *Farazdac, was very much his father's son. I remembered something that Hansi Heck-Melnyk once said, in describing Alaa el Din, whom she saw in Egypt:

"He was a rectangular horse, well proportioned all over."

At the time, I didn't realize just how powerful (and accurate) that statement was. Enjoy the video everyone.