Araafa
| Araafa | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Mull of Kintyre |
| Grandsire | Danzig |
| Dam | Resurgence |
| Damsire | Polar Falcon |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 8 April 2003 |
| Country | Ireland |
| Colour | Bay |
| Breeder | Sweetmans Bloodstock |
| Owner | Saleh Al Homaizi & Imad Al Sagar |
| Trainer | Jeremy Noseda |
| Record | 10: 3-2-1 |
| Earnings | £392,500 |
| Major wins | |
|
Irish 2000 Guineas (2006) St James's Palace Stakes (2006) |
|
| Awards | |
| Top-rated British three-year-old colt (2006) | |
Araafa (8 April 2003 – 15 June 2012) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He won three of his ten races between July 2005 and November 2006 and was the top-rated British-trained colt of his generation. As a two-year-old he won on his debut and was placed in both the Acomb Stakes and the Horris Hill Stakes. In the following spring he finished fourth to George Washington in the 2000 Guineas before reversing the form to win the Irish 2000 Guineas. He followed up with a win in the St James's Palace Stakes and later finished second to George Washington in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. He was then retired to stud but was not a success as a breeding stallion. He died in 2012 at the age of nine.
Araafa was a dark-coated bay horse with a large white star and white sock on his left hind foot bred in Ireland by Sweetmans Bloodstock. He was from the first crop of foals sired by Mull of Kintyre, whose biggest win came in the 1999 running of the Gimcrack Stakes. Mull of Kintyre's also sired Mull of Killough who won two editions of the Earl of Sefton Stakes, but he was not considered a success as a breeding stallion and was exported to India. Araafa's dam Resurgence was a full-sister to the leading sprinter and sire Pivotal.
As a foal, Araafa was consigned by the Castletown Stud to the Tattersalls sale in November 2003 and was bought for 48,000 guineas by the bloodstock agent Paul Shanahan. The colt returned to Tattersalls in October 2004 and was sold for 150,000 guineas to Tony Nerses, acting on behalf of Saleh Al Homaizi and Imad Al Sagar. He was sent into training with Jeremy Noseda at Newmarket.
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