For Carl-Heinz Doemken and his wife, Constanze, the greatest delight was breeding their mares to Ghazal!  Their Egyptian-bred mare Malacha (El Sereei x Moheba) and Ghazal had two of his most significant daughters: Moheba II and Malikah.   Malikah was the more “austere” of the two and Moheba II seemed to be more "lovely".  Both resembled their grand dam, Bukra, in many ways and had the same flea-bitten spots. The effect of these two sisters had on world-wide Arabian horse breeding can definitely not be overlooked:  Without them, Asfour  (Malik x Hanan) would have not be born, being the sire of the World Reserve Champion Black Stallion Simeon Sadik as well as the sire of South Africa’s Sidi Arabs stud’s imported stallion, Simeon Segev, and there would be no Messaoud  [GASB 2329] (Madkour x Maymoonah), nor the mare  Ansata Majesta in Qatar (Ansata Halim Shah x Ansata Malika) who’s the great grand dam of the grey young stallion, *Nadeem El Amaar that was imported to SA a few years back, and finally there wouldn't have been a Jamil [GASB 1223] (Madkour x Hanan), who influenced the Arabian horse breed all over the globe.

Ghazal sired 63 offspring in his short lifetime of 19 years. Almost all his get left their mark at different Arabian studs all over the world. It is clearly unjust to emphasize just one, but I want to accentuate his one direct son, *Darius for this info-letter, since he was imported to South Africa and left a legacy of his own here.

…The son, *Darius (Ghazal x Darsi) 1967 - 1991†

Notwithstanding the reality that *Darius were also controversial in some South African breeder’s eyes, since he was not recognized in Europe as a professed licensed breeding sire, he was received by many other Arabian horse enthusiasts as an remarkable idealistic grey Arab stallion and although selective, *Darius was also open for outside mares and sired quite a few offspring at other Arabian studs in South Africa.

Moreover he covered all of the broodmares at Vidiko stud, which include their Chez Nous Shah Rukh (*Al Burak x *Silsilla) daughters and grand-daughters, together with their Baraka grand-daughter, Vidiko Maraka (Timarie Captain Silver x Gordonville Majorette) and they produced some extra-ordinary offspring. 

Even though he never entered the show ring himself, his progeny dominated the show ring in the 1980’s, being awarded with several championships and winnings.  Darius’s oldest son sired in South Africa, Vidiko Gamil Grey (out of Vidiko Nina) excelled in the English riding classes, Arab Costume riding classes and won him his first acclamation as an Arab sire, when he became South African National Colt foal.  Since then Vidiko Gamil Grey was also triumphant in numerous other Championship awarded show-classes and did so throughout his show career until his retirement in 1991.   Not only was Gamil Grey a great show horse but proved to be a very popular stud sire too.  He had about 29 visiting mares in his lifetime, considering that breeding Arabians was not as severely done those days as it is done today.  His most distinguished son was Sadat Ibn Gamil Grey (Vidiko Gamil Grey x Nourmahal Vanessa) who became the Champion Horse of the Year Riding horse twice, where he had to compete against all other horse breeds.

*Darius himself sired a total of 78 offspring of which 36 were female and 41 were male.  His progeny won all the get of sire classes for six consecutive years.  They instantly caught the eye of many spectators and judges, with their gleaming white bodies and correct proportional conformation.

As an established sire of significance, *Darius was and still is, the only Arab stallion in the history of Arabian horse breeding in South Africa, to sire both the Stallion and Mare Supreme National champion awards, in the same year.  In that year he also won the get of sire class and the Reserve Senior Champion Stallion and Junior Champion Stallion was all sired by him.

It happened in 1990, and they were;

Ø  Vidiko Mhalak (out of Vidiko Maraka), National Champion Stallion,

Ø  Vidiko Sayidi (out of Vidiko Shaista), National Champion Mare and

Ø  Sidi Ghazal (out of *Lar Malika), National Junior Chamipion stallion.

Vidiko Gamil Grey became National Reserve Senior Champion Stallion in that same year.  

*Darius was also the great-grandsire of the National Junior Champion Mare Johrhemal El Nura (Hamasa El Fagr x Johrhemar Munifa (by Vidiko Mhalak)); the National Champion Colt foal, Johrhemar El Dashan (Hamasa El fagr x Johrhemar Gaziya (by Vidiko Gamil Grey)); and the National Champion Filly Foal, Johrhemar El Abida (Hamasa El Fagr x Johrhemar Malika (by Johrhemar Ashawan)).

Through his son, Vidiko Mhalak, *Darius was also the great grand sire of the exquisite mare, Johrhemar Nagwa (Johrhemar El Gazell x Johrhemar Munifah (by Vidiko Mhalak)), who was recently exported to the UK and where she had won several Championship awards. 

*Darius did not just sire halter and show champion Arabian offspring.  Some of them are performance orientated too and well known as endurance mounts.  Quite a number of his descendants participate in Endurance riding and carries their riders with ease over long distances without any disqualifications.  There is some direct Darius offspring that did some endurance riding.  The first that comes to my mind is Vidiko Rah-Zal (*Darius x Vidiko Kamar) and his dam, Vidiko Kamar, is also a daughter of *Darius.  Vidiko Rah-Zal is still actively siring successful endurance offspring at Al-Miduk Arabian stud of Alan & Michelle Browne.  Another son of *Darius, who excelled in endurance races was Metra Dakar (*Darius x Vidiko Kareema (by Ches Nous Shah Rukh)) and then there is *Darius’s daughter, Franelzi Dazera (*Darius x Franelzi Sazel (by *Sabdan)) who also competed successfully at several endurance rides.

*Darius’s beauty matched his pleasant personality and became the inspiration of many Arabian horse lovers of that time, who had a vision of a virtually perfect “white” Arabian horse in their stables.  He was and is one of the most prominent stallions to ever set foot on South African soil.  For most Arabian horse breeders in SA, who liked *Darius, he was their encouragement to beseech their ideal Arabian horse when they bred their mares to him.  There’s only a few other stallions that could defeat his unconquerable offspring in the show rings of Southern Africa and that made him the literal “talk -of-the-town”.

Little did the owners of the modest Vidiko Arabian horse stud knew that their decision to import *Darius to South Africa, would transfigure Arabian horse breeding in South Africa to such a degree that he took their stud from just another nice Arabian stud and put it into a total different category of being a superlative Arabian stud.