Taghrooda, a 2011-born filly, made a name for herself by pulling surprises in races where she rarely began as a favourite. Owned by Hamdan Al Maktoum, she was trained in England by John Gosden, and went on to register a record of 4-1-1 in her six race career. In only one of her four wins did she start as the first favourite.She was a beloved mare,both on the field and off it.
Her first race came in October 2013 at the Newmarket, where she was an outsider at the start, but overcame the odds to win by a neck over Casul Neck. Dane O’Neil took charge of her ropes for this maiden race.
Taaghrooda ran her second race in June 2014- the Listed Pretty Polly Stakes- with Paul Hanagan as her rider, this time starting as the favourite. She was on a roll, repaying the faith of her fans to win by six lengths ahead of her closest rival. At this, Hanagan had clearly fallen in love with her and expressed his desire to ride her over a longer distance.
She went on to win to win her next two races and earn herself a big following in the process, but her bones seemed to wear out in her penultimate and swansong appearances, where she finished second and third respectively. All through, Hanagan had only good words for her, never blaming her for losses or springing excuses, but always hailing the strength of her opposition.
She was retired in October 2014, when it was announced that she would go into breeding for the next generation of race horses. At the time of her retirement, she held the honour of best rated three-year-old filly. Her earnings by then clocked £1,476,101.
Her rarity and skill in racing were hailed even with the below-par performance in her final race. Taghrooda foaled a Kingman-sired offspring in 2016.
