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*Morafic, A King Among Kings
by Coreada Kelly
November/December 1999 DHR
The stallion *Morafic was foaled in Egypt at the famed El Zahraa stud (the EAO) in 1956 within a week of his own granddam's birthday. An elegant gray who later turned completely white, he had one of the most extremely exotic heads ever seen in the breed. He inherited his long head from his granddam, Moniet El Nefous, through his dam Mabrouka. He was everything an Arab should be: proud, beautiful, sound and personable.
Personable, though, might not be the word used by many who knew him in Egypt. The stallion had his riders completely bluffed there; they tried to race him, but he was unmanageable on the racetrack. His racing career finally ended when he tore through a fence, scarring his neck permanently. He was retired to El Zahraa then to begin a new life as a sire. He stayed in Egypt until 1965, when Douglas and Margaret Marshall purchased him to head their Gleannloch breeding program. Their trainer, Tom McNair, had already discovered in Egypt that though *Morafic had bullied the grooms of the EAO, he in fact "didn't really have a mean bone in his body." He was instead supremely energetic from spending most of his time in a stall, and was also clever enough to figure out how to get his own way.
Lucky for everyone who loved him and for *Morafic himself, that cleverness was allowed to blossom. While being loaded onto the plane to the States, disaster very nearly took the white horse from his new owners. He and twelve other horses were being loaded onto that plane in Cairo; neither he nor any of the others had ever been transported anywhere, not by trailer nor truck. Yet the only way to load the horses was with a scissors lift that would carry them eighteen feet into the air, up to the belly of the plane. The lift had no railings on two sides, and planes were lifting off and landing all around them.
Just as *Morafic was about to step on the plane, one of the airport officials seized his halter and yanked on it to force him forward. Reflexively *Morafic pulled back, banging his head on the door of the plane and tearing the flesh of his face. One of his hind feet went off the back of the platform, terrifying McNair, but *Morafic was ahead of him already. He knew precisely where he was, and how much *nothing* was between that platform and the ground, and he replaced his hoof on the platform and allowed himself to be loaded. His behavior at the racetrack and the scar across his neck may have supported some people's theories about "crazy Arabians," but the sense he exhibited on that platform certainly speaks of intelligence, too!
*Morafic had a brief but successful show career, then went on to sire an impressive number of champions. He sired 56 foals in Egypt, 11 ofwhich were imported to the U.S., and sired 151 foals in North America. Of those, 36% (58 horses)
Vital Statistics
February 19,1956
EAO #29
imported to U.S. 1965
died March 18,1974
Foal crops 1960 - 1966 in Egypt, 1967 - 1975 in U.S.
became champions at Class A level or above. Of those 58,30 (52%) won national awards. In fact, in 1971, the U.S. national halter futurity colt and filly champions were both by *Morafic, as was the reserve champ futurity filly. In 1975, three of his daughters were national futurity winners. His colts, too, proved outstanding, including, Shaikh Al Badi, Al Metrabbi, Dalul, Ansata Shah Zaman, *Khofo, TheEgyptianPrince, Moraftakhar, Ibn Morafic, and *Ibn Moniet El Nefous. His daughters included Bint Dint Mona, Bint Romanaa, Dalia, II Muna, Bint Bint Hanaa, *Nahlah, and Shafeekah.
The mark of a good sire is great offspring; the mark of a great sire is great grandoffspring. Here, too, *Morafic left his mark. Consider this line: *Morafic sired the 1972 U.S. Reserve National Futurity Champion Shaikh Al Badi. He in turn sired the beautiful Rurninaja Ali, who became the 1979 U.S. Nat'l Champion Futurity Colt and '83 U. S. Reserve Nat'l Champion Stallion. Ali sired Ali Jamaal, the '85 U. S. Nat'l Champion Futurity Colt and '90 U. S. National Champion StalEon, Jamaal in turn sired B ST Dajarnaal, the 1993 U. S. National Champion Futurity Colt.
*Morafic continued at Gleannloch until 1974, when complications after colic surgery proved too much even for his spirit. He died on his feet in the recovery room, fighting even then. But if memories allow us to live on, then the white horse still resides with us, prancing around with his tail flagged and his head up, glorious. For, twenty years after his death, Douglas Marshall said of *Morafic, "I can close my eyes and I still see him as if he were right in front of me. His tail plumed, his head held so high. A king. I will never forget him." Salaam, Morafic.
3 generation pedigree:
sire:
Nazeer (Mansour (Gamil Manial x Nafaa el Saghira) x Bint Samiha (Kazmeen x Samiha)
dam:
Mabrouka (Sid Abouhom (El Deree x Layla) x Moniet el Nefous (Shahloul x Wanisa)