Mehmas in action

Sires Series: Sally Wright profiles Mehmas’ ascent to the top

Horse Racing

Thu June 25, 2026 · 1d ago

An Irish-bred bay horse born in 2014, current sire sensation Mehmas came from the same nicking pattern as the impactful stallion, Dark Angel, being by Acclamation (from the rarer Northern Dancer sireline of Try My Best) out of a mare by Machiavellian.

Acclamation won the Diadem Stakes and raced in three countries, and Mehmas’ unraced dam, Lucina, was a half-sister to Cambridgeshire winner Blue Monday from a family that produced Italian Derby and two-time Hong Kong Vase winner Luso, dual Coronation Cup winner, Warrsan, and tough middle-distance performer Needle Gun.

Raced only at two years as a five and six-furlong specialist, Mehmas was trained by Richard Hannon and ridden by Frankie Dettori throughout his career. Interestingly, a full brother, Yasood, failed to hit the board until reaching four years old and he specialised at a mile or more rather than sprints.

Given an Arabic-root name implying ‘courage, zeal and enthusiasm', Mehmas ran eight times, winning four of his starts and placing in the rest. He won his debut at Chester and followed up shortly after in a minor sprint at Newbury. A couple of good runner-up efforts ensued, with Mehmas being ‘caught further back than ideal’ at Sandown before going down on merit (by two-and-a-quarter lengths to Caravaggio) in the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Described by Timeform as ‘tough and consistent’ he proved himself a smart performer when winning the July Stakes at Newmarket (by a half-length from the Aidan O’Brien-trained Intelligence Cross) and the Richmond Stakes at Goodwood (by a neck from Blue Point), both at Group 2 level and within the same month. Tackling seven furlongs for the first and only time, he finished four-and-a-quarter lengths behind another Coolmore type, Churchill, in the National Stakes at the Curragh, having again been ‘positioned further back than ideal’ from a slow start. He capped his short but prolific career off with a respectable third in the Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket, three lengths behind The Last Lion and Blue Point.

The epitome of a sprinter, Timeform praised the ‘trainer’s horse’ for his reliability and gave him a master rating of 115. With total earnings of £305,953 the decision was made to retire Mehmas rather than train him on as a three-year-old, coincidentally following the same early-to-stud route that Dark Angel’s connections had chosen years earlier. Mehmas joined Tally-Ho Stud in Ireland for the 2017 breeding season and for an initial fee of €12,500. He hit the ground running with his very first crop of foals, setting a European record for having the most individual two-year-old winners (fifty-five in Europe, with an additional winner in the US) in 2020 by a Thoroughbred stallion. This crop was to produce many smart/useful performers and Group winners.

A son, Minzaal, developed into a ‘high-class’ sprinter who won the Hackwood Stakes before stepping up to take the Sprint Cup at Haydock (beating Emaraaty Ana by three-and-three-quarter lengths). From eleven races he was only out of the placings on two occasions and remains Mehmas’ highest Timeform-rated performer to date at 127. He has since retired to stand at stud in Ireland.

Chez Pierre won three races in France before crossing to the US to win the Grade 1 Maker’s Mark Mile Stakes (by three-and-a-half lengths from Modern Games). Supremacy had an excellent two-year-old season when winning the Richmond Stakes and Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket (by a half-length from Lucky Vega with Minzaal in third) though he failed to find that form at three. Going Global was a plucky filly who did most of her racing in the US, winning eight high-level events there, most notably the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks at nine furlongs. Subsequently sold from her trainer Philip D'Amato for $2,500,000, she was sent to Australia where she did not reproduce that form. Other notables from this crop included Power Under Me who took the Concorde Stakes at Tipperary (by a length-and-a-quarter from Fleur de Chine) and Quattroelle, who was barely ever out of the placings in the US, where she won at Grade 2 and 3 over a mile. Mehmas also had several Listed winners in Britain, Ireland, and the UAE, including Acklam Express, Colour Up, Line of Departure and Clarendon House, another tough and smart sort, despite his unreliability.

Minzaal scorches clear in the Betfair Sprint Cup

Further success within the Group 2 bracket followed with Mehmas’ second crop, when Lusail won two prestigious sprinting events, including the Gimcrack Stakes. Caturra won the Flying Childers Stakes (beating Armor and Corazon by a half-length) and Malavath took the Critérium de Maisons-Laffitte in France. His first two crops earned their sire the Leading First and Second Crop Sire (by prize money) titles in Europe and Great Britain/Ireland in 2020 and 2021. Ascension into the upper ranks of the coveted General Sires List would follow.

From his third crop of foals, Mehmas got Believing who won the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan by a half-length from Japanese raider, Win Carnelian. Barberstown took the Sapphire Stakes at the Curragh and Prix Texanita in France and Knight won the Horris Hill Stakes at two years (by almost two lengths from Grey’s Monument). Persian Force became a top two-year-old, winning the July Stakes (by a length-and-a-half from Show Respect) as well as placing in the Prix Morny and Middle Park Stakes. His career culminated in a respectable fourth-placed effort in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Keeneland, some three lengths behind the winner, Mischief Magic, making ground outside before fading in the final furlong. Though more heavily campaigned than his sire, Persian Force retired at the end of his two-year-old season to stand alongside Mehmas at Tally-Ho Stud in County Westmeath - and is already enjoying his first winners.

More recently, Vertical Blue emerged as smart at a mile, winning the Prix Marcel Boussac by a nose from Zarigana, and West Acre took the Nad Al Sheba Turf and Blue Point Sprints, setting a new track record of 55:38 in the latter event. Scorthy Champ won the National Stakes at the Curragh (by three-quarters-of-a-length from Henri Matisse), and Magnum Force won an Irish maiden before crossing the Atlantic to record a striking success in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Del Mar (by a half-length from Arizona Blaze). Wise Approach scored at Listed level before winning the Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket (by three-quarters of a length from Brussels) in 2025, making ground after being badly hampered at the start. This rounded out another fine year for his sire, and Timeform stated that Mehmas’ progeny moved him ‘up with the elite,’ effectively ranking him alongside luminary European stallions such as Oasis Dream and Frankel.

Although an exceptional sire of speedy juveniles, three of his runners, Minzaal, Chez Pierre and Going Global all hit their peak with age. Additionally, Mehmas has been able to get horses who have shown prowess over turf and dirt surfaces and in a variety of countries. His initial stud fee has since risen to €70,000 in 2025/26 and he looks certain to further justify that price in the years to come.

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