In the March/April edition of SA Horseman, I briefly explained the concept of the Crabbet or English Arabian. For the purpose of these articles, I will refer to all horses that can be classified as Crabbet, General Stud Book (GSB), Blunt or ­Crabbet/Maynesborough/Kellog (CMK) as “Crabbet”.

In the previous article the influence of “Egyptian” blood was discussed and it was clear that the Asil Arabian bloodlines function very well with something else – either with Spanish (like El Shaklan) or Russian (with the influence of Aswan), but the majority of the out-crosses are with the Crabbets (in South Africa, in any case).

I will now shortly discuss the influence of horses (stallions and mares) that originate or were imported from the United Kingdom.

Raktha

Raktha (Naseem (by Skowronek) out of Razina) is one of the most influential sires, all over the world. According to the Arab Horse Stud Book of South Africa (Vol 1) Raktha was bred by Lady Yule, England in 1934. He was imported in 1957 by AJ Botha of Maclear. He sired a number of foals in the UK before his arrival in South Africa.

Rosemary Archer (in The Crabbet Journal, May 2005) remarks that his influence in the UK is “often thought to be mainly through his sons, Indian Magic, General Grant and the Indian Magic son, Indriss”.

Some Raktha offspring also made their way to Australia. Electric Silver (Raktha x Silvina by Indian Gold) and Silwan (Dargee out of Raktha daughter) to name just a few, all part of the pedigree of Ralvon Kin. The Raktha son, Serafix (out of Serafina by Indian Gold) made a huge impact in the USA.

Remington Steele is just one example of a “giant” who has strong Raktha influence. The same can be said of Padrons Psyche, whose Crabbet influence through Odessa cannot be overlooked (or under-estimated).

Other Raktha first generation progeny that came to South Africa, are Bint Razena (out of Zena by Blue Domino), Gazelle (out of Ghezala by Faris), Indian Red (out of Nezma by Rafeef), Quantock II (out of Chocolate Cream by Ruskov), Serafilla (out of Sharfina by Ratham), Shirama (full sister to Serafilla) and Silverlet (out of Silver Gilt by Indian Gold).

The second and third generation influence is even more impressive, but space does not allow for them to be mentioned. Seven of 32 foals sired in the UK, were imported to South Africa.

When looking at a six-generation pedigree of the Fauresmith top ten performers (purebred Arabians only!) the crosses to Raktha are astonishing. Less than 20% of these horses have NO Raktha in their pedigrees whatsoever!

A few “well-known” horses with strong Raktha are: Al-Gamila Rothos (five crosses), Arkab Mirarti (six crosses), Azurite Wulfenite (six crosses), Dansawil Al Magnifiqo (six crosses), Eibna Mansour (three crosses), Franelzi Soranzeldo (five crosses), Heimdahl Sorrento (seven crosses) and Johrhemar el Atan (three crosses).

The problem now is to find a stallion with strong crosses to Raktha. Look among those studs who breed “pure Crabbets”!

Oran, Rissalix and Dargee

The stallions Oran, Rissalix and Dargee were bred in the UK, kept at stud there, and have their influence through their offspring, and sometimes through crosses with one another.

The Dargee offspring that were imported are: Dancing Winds (out of Shades of Night), Indian Glory (out of Indian Pride by Irex), and Royal Crystal (out of Grey Royal by Raktha). Raktha Indian Dargee (out of Indian Pearl, by Oran) was born in South Africa but bred in the UK, as his dam was imported in foal to Dargee.

Armika Jeanre (two crosses), Destrier Tasa-um (two crosses), Franelzi Soranzeldo (two crosses), and Henham Sellamanzi (three crosses) are some examples of endurance horses who have lines to Dargee.

Rissalix has his influence in our performance pedigrees through four stallions. The first is Blue Domino (out of Nisreya) with his progeny Azrak (by Blue Domino out of Silent Wings by Oran), Timarie Blue Sala (Blue Domino x Kasala), Zena (Blue Domino x Queen Zenobia), Correze (Count Dorsaz x Namilla), and Reibara Mansour (Count Dorsaz x Endora by General Grant).

Second is Mikeno (out of Namilla) with sons Falouk, Moltke, and Indiaro. Third we have Pale Shadow (out of Shamnar by Naziri) with progeny Dawn Shadow (by Radi) and Bright Shadow (in the pedigree of, among others, Silvern Gleam).

And then there is Rikitea (out of Nurschida) with son Chief Kasalo (by General Grant), and daughters Rinessa (by General Grant), Garance (by Greay Owl), and Chellala (by Sala). These names can be found in studs such as the Timarie, Jamani, Agha, Vlinkfontein, Vidiko, Quimran and Shari-Silic. Aboukir Rajah (five crosses), Agha Ibn Azimdar (three crosses), Al Gamila Rabat (five crosses) and Gevonden Granju (three crosses), are some of the endurance horses linked to Rissalix.

Of these three dark horses, Oran (Riffal x Astrella) was the most influential. Three of his direct descendants, Obeydh (out of Perle d’Or by Count Dorsaz), who sired Sudarik Oralet, Shadilla (out of Shalina) and Indian Pearl (out of Indian Flower by Irex), came to South Africa. It is the second generation that is better known.

The stallion Crystal Shah (by The Shah), through Crystal Rose, the stallion Exceptional (by The Chief), through Extra Special, the stallion Silver Rocket (our of Silver Shamrock) through Grand Royal (out of Sharima), the stallion Indiaro (out of Maracanda) through Indian King (out of Indian Pride), the brother/sister Ibn Chantarella/Bint Chantarella(out of Chantarella by General Grant out of Domatella – who is by Blue Domino) and Ringmaster (out of Rabiya), through Orion(out of Dancing Diamond), the mare Dancing Crystal (out of Dancing Star) through Royal Diamond and the the stallion Azrak out of the mare Silent Wings (out of Silfina).

The stallion Shalwan (by Shalina), through Silver Vanity (out of Silver Gilt), available in the pedigrees of Silvern Gleam and Mystic Aulrab. Endurance performers strong in Oran were Al Gamila Rabat and Al Gamila Rothos (three crosses), Banghor Zeema (two crosses) and Deblos Sallavat (two crosses).

The names of some horses appear more than once, having crosses to Oran, Dargee, Rissalix and the immortal Raktha. This is proof that no one individual is “enough” in a pedigree, but that one should look for a combination of animals, as they all bring different traits to their descendants.

The other Crabbets will be discussed in the next article.