WADEE
AL SHAQAB
Wadee Al Shaqab 2017 Mediterranean and Arab Countries Gold Champion Senior Stallion, Menton, France, pictured with Sheikh Hamad bin Ali Al Thani, Al Shaqab Breeding and Show Manager, and trainer Giacomo Capacci.
“Wadee is not just a pretty face, he is from a family of champions that is second to none.�
WADEE
AL SHAQAB
WADEE AL SHAQAB A VICTORY BY THE SEA by Denise Hearst
For Wadee Al Shaqab’s (Marwan Al Shaqab x OFW Mishaahl) return to the showring as a mature stallion, there could not have been a more majestic backdrop than the sparkling Mediterranean Sea. Here, on a white sand beach in Menton, Wadee’s dramatic entrance, with his extravagant mane flying, was thrilling. Everyone was on their feet, whooping and hollering, and it seemed the louder they got, the more Wadee showed himself.
In his age class for 7- to 10-year-old stallions, Wadee was awarded 4×20 for type, and 3×20 for head and neck, for a total score of 93.63. Later in the afternoon, he was crowned unanimous Gold Champion Stallion and Best in Show. Another step toward fulfilling the destiny that Al Shaqab’s Breeding and Show Manager, Sheikh Hamad bin Ali Al Thani, has dreamt of for the magnificent bay.
Wadee Al Shaqab (Marwan Al Shaqab x OFW Mishaahl).
3 b AL SHAQAB b WORLD
Wadee Al Shaqab was recently crowned 2017 Menton Gold Champion Senior Stallion, another accolade to add to his already impressive show record. He was Qatar National Gold Champion Colt as a yearling. As a two-year-old, he was named Al Khalediah Silver Champion, Qatar International Gold Champion, Menton Gold Champion, and to crown it all, World Gold Junior Champion. In his first appearance as a senior stallion in 2014, he was named Qatar International Gold Champion Stallion.
In the days leading up to the Menton show, pressure was building for Wadee’s handler, Giacomo Capacci. “There were many media stories, cameras, interviews, gossip and all the things that I’m not good at dealing with,” says Giacomo. “I was very much looking forward to the class because I know that right then, when I have the horse in my hands, I am in my quiet zone and can block out all emotions, thoughts, and stress. The worries simply go away.
4 b AL SHAQAB b WORLD
5 b AL SHAQAB b WORLD
“The crowd went absolutely mad throughout the competition, and it made the moment even more fun and exciting. In those moments I tune out everything else and that is when I really get the best of myself.
“I think the scores were very good, more or less what we expected to get with Wadee. I was very happy with the way he performed. This horse has a big heart and I knew he was not going to let me down.” Giacomo was especially gratified by the response Wadee inspired in people. “It was a big surprise for everyone to see Wadee all grown up and beautiful. Most of the people had not seen him for many years, and they all were so kind to express so many positive comments about him and the way he presented himself.
6 b AL SHAQAB b WORLD
“… it seemed the louder they got, the more Wadee showed himself.”
Below: We couldn’t help but notice all of the creative social media campaigns that were launched around Wadee this year. They certainly were effective in engaging people with Wadee’s journey. Al Shaqab manager, Santi Fornieles, pictured second from left, credits Sheikh Hamad Bin Ali Al Thani as the source of many such ideas, and says, “For Paris we are preparing an idea that will be groundbreaking. Something that has never been done before in the breed and I am really excited about it. It is BIG! “As for Wadee himself, I’ve only met him a couple of times because he has not spent much time in Doha,” adds Santi. “He was always the little brother of Kahil, and at first, people didn’t pay that much attention to him. But I always really liked him and supported him. I tried to convince as many people as I could to breed to him — whenever Qatari breeders came to Al Shaqab and asked me about which stallion to breed to their mares, I always suggested Wadee, because I have so much faith in him. He’s a really good stallion.”
7 b AL SHAQAB b WORLD
8 b AL SHAQAB b WORLD
“The moment they announced that Wadee had won, Sheikh Hamad was very emotional and so was I. We did not say much, but hugs and kisses were flying everywhere. It was crazy fun when Sheikh Hamad and the Al Shaqab team members picked me up and threw me in the air. Not many words but a lot of meaningful expressions.” For now, Wadee is home at Giacomo’s farm in Cortona. “He has been resting a bit since Menton,” says Giacomo. “He enjoys his new weekly routine and especially going out in his paddock and grazing for most of the days of the week. “He very much enjoys living his life like a horse. He is a magnificent creature and he deserves the best.”
Sheikh Hamad bin Ali Al Thani enjoys a moment in the spotlight with Wadee Al
Wadee Al Shaqab’s daughter Belladonna AT (x Om El Bellatrix), bred and owned
Shaqab in Menton.
by Al Thumama Stud, Qatar, was named Bronze Champion Junior Filly in Menton.
9 b AL SHAQAB b WORLD
“He enjoys his new weekly routine… grazing for most of the days of the week.” 10 b AL SHAQAB b WORLD
Wadee Al Shaqab in Cortona, Italy, with trainer Giacomo Capacci.
A Conversation with Al Shaqab Breeding and Show Manager Sheikh Hamad bin Ali Al Thani Your joy in Menton after Wadee’s unanimous Championship was palpable. Please tell us what that win meant to you. It was a very emotional moment. Standing there by the showring in Menton, I thought back to the many years leading to this win ‌ all the horses that came before. Yes, that is why I had tears.
When and where will Wadee next grace a showring? Wadee took some years off to breed mares after he was World Champion Colt, because we like our horses to be fresh, happy. Now he is ready to try for the Gold World Championship! He will go to Paris for sure, but we are evaluating different strategies.
11 b AL SHAQAB b WORLD
Belladonna AT (Wadee Al Shaqab x Om El Bellatrix by Om El Shahmaan), above, 2015 filly, bred and owned by Al Thumama Stud, Qatar. She was 2017 Bronze Champion Junior Filly in Menton; 2016 Gold Champion Yearling Filly, Qatar International; 2016 Top Five Yearling Filly World Championships, Paris; Top Five Yearling Filly AHO World Cup, Chantilly; and Bronze Champion Yearling Filly at the All Nations Cup, Aachen.
12 b AL SHAQAB b WORLD
Not one, not two, but three generations of homebred world champions, and two of them full brothers — what’s the secret? There is no secret; God gives and God takes. If you are good to people, but especially to horses, you will receive back and that is what we should all aim for. Give selflessly and you will receive back. We received the blessing of a mare like OFW Mishaal, but we have the responsibility to make the best we can out of her, and I think that with her, especially, we have achieved it.
“He has the quality and has sired the quality …” Menwah Al Shaqab
Mansour Al Khor
(Wadee Al Shaqab x Miss El Power JQ), pictured left
(Wadee Al Shaqab x Rumaitha Al Zobara by Farhoud
and following spread, 2015 filly, bred and owned by
Al Shaqab), above, 2016 colt, bred and owned
Al Shaqab.
by Al Khor Stud, Qatar. He was the 2016 Kuwait International Silver Champion Yearling Colt.
13 b AL SHAQAB b WORLD
14 b AL SHAQAB b WORLD
Menwah Al Shaqab 15 b AL SHAQAB b WORLD
16 b AL SHAQAB b WORLD
Wadee Al Shaqab
Marmar Al Shaqab
It is fairly unusual for a breeding program to come up with this sort of consistency through a line of homebred sires, using different mares in each generation — more often, it’s the other way around. Design or coincidence?
Gazal had the best of both father and mother and there is his prepotency as a sire. Marwan had the same and I believe Kahil and Wadee also have that. On top of this, some people prefer Kahil, but I prefer Wadee, although it’s just a matter of taste — they are both amazing individuals. It’s rare that a combination produces two stallions that ultimately become two amazing sires, but when you see Wadee and Kahil’s sisters you understand why they have become such consistent sires. It really is a very, very high standard.
(Wadee Al Shaqab x Magheeda Al Shaqab), facing page, 2015 filly, bred and owned by Al Shaqab.
17 b AL SHAQAB b WORLD
18 b AL SHAQAB b WORLD
Having a consistent sire line is one thing, but you have also been blessed with three extraordinary foundation mares, each one producing a world champion and super sire (and in one case, two): Kajora (Kaborr x Edjora), Little Liza Fame (Fame VF x Katahza), and OFW Mishaahl (Mishaah x OFW Balarina). Have you retained daughters of these mares in order to build up their families?
Yes. For us the dam lines are essential, so we try to retain the best individuals of each family. From Kajora we still have U.S. National Reserve Champion Mare Negma Al Shaqab (by Safir), and Hadfa Al Shaqab (by Al Adeed Al Shaqab). From Little Liza Fame we have two sisters of Marwan that have been producing very nice babies for us, and from OFW Mishaahl we have Estresar Al Shaqab, Qatari International Champion Yearling Filly, Hadba Al Shaqab, and World Silver Champion Yearling Filly Sultanat Al Shaqab, all by Marwan. This year OFW Mishaal left us with a very stretchy filly by Hariry, and the last full brother of Wadee and Kahil. 19 b AL SHAQAB b WORLD
20 b AL SHAQAB b WORLD
From a breeding point of view, in order to achieve certain consistency, it would be a logical step to breed the products of these families to each other — for example, Gazal (son of Kajora) to daughters of Little Liza Fame or OFW Mishaal, or Kahil (son of OFW Mishaahl) to daughters of Kajora and/or Little Liza Fame. Has anything like this been attempted, or (the sire line being very strong and running to a recognizable type) do you rely on the stallions alone, breeding them to other mares that are not of these three families?
The history of Al Shaqab was always to bring the best lines from all over the world and use them here in Qatar for Qatari breeders, so with this philosophy in mind, we always aim to open the bloodlines and this is why we used WH Justice and SMA Magic One during this last season. Next season we will also add new bloodlines. The true concept of Al Shaqab is to not breed too close in our own bloodlines, but to keep getting the best of the world and bringing it to Shaqab.
21 b AL SHAQAB b WORLD
What, in your eyes, distinguishes the Gazal-Marwan dynasty from other Arabian horses, what makes them special? How far do Kahil and/or Wadee fit into this picture, or would you say that they (or one of them) bring in something new, something even better? Both Marwan and Gazal are horsemen’s horses. It does not matter if you like Quarter Horses, Thoroughbreds or Arabians, you will like them both, and I feel Wadee has that same aura to him. After Menton, people in social media sent me so many messages that it was absolutely overwhelming, and many of them are not Arabian breeders, so I think that Wadee has that ability to transcend the breed, he is beyond it. Therefore I believe he will be of the same caliber as Marwan and Gazal. Now he just has to prove himself at Paris to complete the legendary status that I believe he is destined to have. A breeder who has used Wadee recently said that it should not be necessary for your advertisements for Wadee to state “full brother to Kahil Al Shaqab” — because Wadee is even better. Do you agree? I agree, because I understand where that thought comes from, but I disagree in a way because first of all, we are breeders, and shows are just a consequence. So showing the consistency of this family is showing to the world that Wadee is not just a pretty face, he is from a family of champions that is second to none, so this brings a unique level of consistency that is nowhere else to be found, and for me as a breeder, that’s essential.
22 b AL SHAQAB b WORLD
23 b AL SHAQAB b WORLD
Regardless of which of the two brothers might be better as an individual, Kahil has done a superb job in Poland, establishing himself as a major sire in his own right. What do you expect from Wadee as a sire? Having bred foals by both of them, what would you say distinguishes them from each other? This season Wadee will have the opportunity to prove what we at Al Shaqab already know: he is a sire of his own stature. Kahil had the chance to breed the Polish mares but Wadee didn’t have that chance. Nevertheless he sired superb quality foals with a smaller group of mares. Now for next season he will have around 60 foals and I am absolutely sure that he will sire a superstar. Do you see a fourth generation world champion in the future, and if so, who is more likely to be his sire? Wadee. Sure. He has the quality and has sired the quality — this is our hint that he will be a super sire with the right opportunities.
“This season Wadee will have the opportunity to prove what we at Al Shaqab already know: he is a sire of his own stature.”
Sheikh Hamad bin Ali Al Thani Manager of Breeding and Show Department www.alshaqab.com
Designed and produced by Arabian Horse World ¡ 08/17