It was with much glee that one of our desktop ‘rabbit-hole trips’ found us in India discovering a bit more about their horseracing journey.
More specifically we were drawn to Usha Stud which is arguably India’s best stud farm, writes the Ethanicity Research team.
Northern Dancer
What grabbed our attention was that one of their finest stallions, Razeen, has a close kin-link to the sire of one of SA’s finest hall-of-famers, JET MASTER.
Rakeen is a half-brother to legendary sires Rahy and Singspiel, out of the heralded mare Glorious Song. She was magnificently bred (Halo x Ballade) and confirmed that with a wonderful 34-17-9 race record, backed up with an outstanding broodmare record having produced multiple Group winners.
Both Razeen and Rakeen were born in 1987 by the thoroughbred icon Northern Dancer from very different female lines.
Paulick Report published a glowing tribute in 2021 on the eve of the legends birthday Bloodlines: Northern Dancer’s Small Stature And Long Shadow (Frank Mitchell, May 26, 2021) . That shadow continues to shade horseracing today.
Rakeen is-bred to Almahmoud/Mahmoud across the third, fourth and fifth generation and was both a good racehorse and significant stallion.
Razeen is inbred to Hyperion across generations four and five, was a good racehorse and appears to have left an indelible mark on Indian horseracing with his progeny.
That these two sires went on to produce families of champion racehorses is a remarkable string of irrefutable fact challenged only by opinion.
One can only wonder at the thinking of whoever named these two sons of Northern Dancer back then.
Rakeen means “he who is dignified” – a very appropriate name as it turns out
Razeen means “gentle, noble, sedate” – a seemingly antithetical name judging by the humorous account written here.
- Ethanicity Research is a private & independent SA Horseracing Research Agency with no 3rd party affiliations.
