Title - Mahmoud being Saddled for The Derby(1936)

Artist - SIR ALFRED JAMES MUNNINGS

Mahmoud was bred in 1933 by the Aga Khan by Blenheim, the winner of the 1930 Derby, out of Mah Mahal, daughter of the "Flying Filly" herself Mumtaz Mahal, widely thought to be the fastest horse ever seen on an English track. He stood just 15.3 hands when he failed to make his reserve at the Deauville yearling sale and was retained for the Aga Khan’s racing stable by default. He was sent to England to be trained by Frank Butters at the Fitzroy House stable in Newmarket, Suffolk. In his two-year-old season, he posted impressive wins at the Exeter Stakes at Newmarket's July meeting; the Richmond Stakes at Goodwood, which he won over six furlongs; and the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster, which he led from start to finish.

An unimpressive run at the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket in April 1936 set Mahmoud up for a thrilling race at Epsom in June. In a field of twenty-two horses, against odds of 100/8 and with a course so hard it was almost bare, Mahmoud prepared to run against his stable companions Taj Akbar, ridden by the Champion Jockey Gordon Richards (both seen at left in the present work), and Bala Hissar. Ridden by Charlie Smirke, Mahmoud pulled off a tremendous victory on this very fast ground, setting two records that would stand until 1995. Mahmoud’s time of 2 minutes 33.8 seconds was the fastest hand-held timing ever clocked, while the Aga Khan remained the only owner in 150 years to have had his colors carried first and second in the Derby .