Mata Hari (horse)

Mata Hari
Sire	Peter Hastings
Grandsire	Peter Pan
Dam	War Woman
Damsire	Man o' War
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	1931
Country	United States
Colour	Brown
Breeder	Charles T. Fisher
Owner	Dixiana Stable
Trainer	Clyde Van Dusen
Record	16: 7-0-2
Earnings	US$66,699
Major wins
Arlington Lassie Stakes (1933) Breeders' Futurity Stakes (1933) Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (1933) Illinois Derby (1934) Illinois Oaks (1934)
Awards
American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly (1933) American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly (1934)
Honours
Mata Hari Stakes at Thistledown Racecourse Mata Hari Handicap at Sportsman's Park
Horse (Equus ferus caballus)

Mata Hari (folaed in 1931 in Kentucky) was an American Champion Thoroughbred filly racehorse bred and owned by Charles T. Fisher, a Detroit automobile body manufacturer who raced under the Dixiana Stable banner named for his Dixiana Farm in Lexington, Kentucky.

A Champion at 2

Trained by Clyde Van Dusen, as a two-year-old in 1933, Mata Hari won five of her eight starts. On July 8, 1933 she earned her third win in three starts by easily taking the important Arlington Lassie Stakes at Arlington Park.^[1] In winning the October 21, 1933 Breeders' Futurity Stakes, Mata Hari defeated colts, including future Hall of Fame inductee Discovery, and set a new Latonia track record of 1:09 3/5 for six furlongs on dirt.^[2] One week later at Latonia she became the second filly in its fourteen-year history to win the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes in which she again defeated males.^[3]

Mata Hari's performances in 1933 saw her share American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly honors with Edward R. Bradley's Bazaar.^[4]

A Champion again at 3

In 1934, Mata Hari contined racing against her male counterparts. John Gilbert rode her to a fourth place finish in the 1934 Kentucky Derby won by Cavalcade. She went on to win the May 23 Illinois Derby against males at Aurora Downs and breaking the track record by more than three seconds with a time of 1:49 3/5 for a mile and an eighth on dirt.^[5] On June 23, Mata Hari won the Illinois Oaks for fillies at Washington Park Race Track.^[6]

For the second year in a row, Mata Hari was chosen as the American Champion Filly of her age group.

Broodmare

Bred to sires such as Bull Lea, Ksar, and Eight Thirty, among others, Mata Hari's best runner was Charles Fisher's homebred colt Spy Song (b. 1943). Sired by 1934 American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt Balladier, Spy Song won the 1945 Arlington Futurity and ran second in the 1946 Kentucky Derby.^[7]

References

1. ^ Toledo News-Bee - July 14, 1933
2. ^ Vancouver Sun - October 23, 1933
3. ^ New York Times - October 29, 1933
4. ^ ‘’The Bloodhorse.com’’ Champion's history charts
5. ^ Chicago Daily Tribune – May 24, 1934
6. ^ New York Times – June 24, 1934
7. ^ Mata Hari's foals

• Mata Hari's pedigree and partial racing stats