03 August, 2020

The Genetic Flame of Laheeb

Asal Sirabba (Sirecho x Habba)
Asal Sirabba, a 1958 grey mare bred by Mrs. John E. Ott, was sired by Sirecho and out of the Babson mare, Habba. By virtue of her pedigree, she is representative of the type of horse that defined the breeding program of Prince Mohamed Aly Tewfik (Nasr, Fadl & Mabrouk Manial). When combined with the other horses in the pedigree bred by Abbas Pasha Hilmi II, Ahmed Bey El Sennari, Prince Ahmed Kamal, the percentage of native Egyptian blood reaches almost 98%! Which means that the percentage of Blunt desert breeding was very low in this mare, about 2%. Think outcross power. The only Blunt desert-bred horse appearing in the pedigree is Kazmeen, the sire of Bint Sabah. 

Asal Sirabba produced four daughters: one daughter sired by *Ibn Moniet el Nefous named AK Nadira (1976) and the other 3 daughters sired by *Ansata Ibn Halima: Silima (1966), Raalima (1967) and  Siralima (1971):
  • Raalima was a prolific mare for Bentwood Farm, producing daughters by the stallions, *Ibn Moniet El Nefous, TheEgyptianPrince and Shaikh Al Badi. Among those daughters are AK Shahlima, Bint Raalima, Ak Tarifa, AK Zayaadah, Thamin Amira, Latifa Raqqasa and Our Kibriya.
  • Silima, when bred to Hadbah, produced the stallion Anchor Hill Halim, who went to Germany and became a successful sire, having produced daughters like Mona I, Moregha, *HS Mayeda amd *Moshana.  
  • Siralima was bred primarily to *Ibn Moniet El Nefous and produced AK Monalima, AK Jamila, AK Il Malika and AK Latifa, who was sold with her Imperial Al Kamar filly (Imperial Kalatifa) to Ariela Arabians in Israel. AK Latifa produced four foals for Ariela, who matured to become Israeli National Champion horses!
Imperial Kalatifa, by Imperial Al Kamar, when bred to Imperial Imdal, produced the multi-champion halter mare, Loubna. This wonderful World Champion Mare has earned more prizes, in more countries, as proof of her outstanding beauty. She is now owned by Sheikh Ammar Bin Humaid Al Nuaimi of Ajman Stud.
Laheeb (Imperial Imdal x AK Latifa) in a recent photo taken by Bar Hajaj
However, it is AK Latifa's son by Imperial Imdal, Laheeb, whose name in Arabic means flame, has furthered  the influence of Siralima and Asal Sirabba all over the world; having stood at stud at Janow Podlaski and Michalow Stud in Poland, at Al Badeia in Egypt; as well as in America, at Ferlita Arabians in California and of course at his home, Ariela Arabians in Israel. I can't think of another Arabian horse who established a continuing influence, like Laheeb has done, in so many countries.  For example, in the upcoming Pride of Poland sale, there are three mares carrying the influence of Laheeb in their pedigrees: Lot 3 - Endorfina, a great granddaughter through Eteryka, Lot 14 - Emily, a granddaughter through Poganin and Lot 15 - Atakama, a great-granddaughter through Emira. In 1970, when *Ansata Ibn Halima covered Asal Sirabba, Poland was probably the farthest thing from anyone's minds and yet, it is truly amazing how one horse can make a long ago decision, to combine older Egyptian lines with the newer blood, significantly relevant in today's world. 

No comments:

Post a Comment