At a Glance
- Filly, Ontario-bred, foaled May 10, 2024
- By Army Mule out of Makisupa
- Trainer: Kevin Attard
- Acquired at the 2025 Keeneland September Yearling Sale
Behind the name
Overlooking the Douai Plain from the highest point of Vimy Ridge, Canada’s national war memorial in Europe stands as a tribute to all Canadians who served during the First World War. Carved on its walls are the names of 11,285 Canadian soldiers who died in France with no known grave, their bodies never identified or recovered.
More than half of the names on the Vimy Memorial commemorate men who died at Courcelette.
Fought during the Battle of the Somme – a campaign that cost Canada more than 24,000 casualties – Courcelette was where Canadians first earned their feared reputation as hard-hitting shock troops. Their story is one of courage, of devotion to duty, and of thousands of young Canadians trading their futures for ours.
The Battle of Courcelette was Canada’s first major offensive operation of WWI.
Changing the face of warfare forever, the proving ground for the Canadian Corps was also the first time tanks were ever used in combat. Fighting alongside armoured vehicles, Canadian troops crossed No Man’s Land and closed to hand-to-hand fighting against an enemy dug in behind formidable defences. The 22nd (Vandoos) and 25th (Nova Scotia) battalions succeeded in capturing the fortified village of Courcelette while the 26th (New Brunswick) Battalion mopped up Germans who had been bypassed among the ruins.
What followed was four hellish days of constant violent German counterattacks which the Canadians pushed back. Their victory opened the door to a long and costly struggle – eleven weeks of bloody fighting in knee-deep mud against murderous resistance.
Overshadowed by the staggering losses of the broader Somme offensive, Courcelette is often called a “forgotten victory.” But after it, the Canadian Corps was called forward to lead one great battle after another. And whenever the Germans soldiers learned the Canadians were coming into the line, they prepared for the worst.
Courcelette is widely remembered as a battle that forged Canada’s nationhood.
Canada didn’t just fight at Courcelette – it defined its identity there. Two Victoria Crosses were awarded, one earned on the second day of fighting by Nova Scotian Private John Chipman Kerr of the 49th Battalion who single-handedly took 62 prisoners and 250 yards of trench with only a rifle – after having his finger blown off by a grenade. The village was the first of more than 250 liberated by the Canadians during the war.
The Battle of Courcelette remains a shining example of Canadian valour: meticulously planned and executed with courage, swiftness, and thoroughness. It ended when the Canadians repelled the thirteenth and final counterattack on September 19th – the same day we bought this Army Mule filly.
Today, in that quiet rural corner of northern France, the Courcelette Canadian Memorial stands – ringed by an honour guard of maple trees, ten varieties strong.
About the Sire
Army Mule is a Pennsylvania-bred thoroughbred stallion sired by Friesan Fire out of the Crafty Prospector mare Crafty Toast. An undefeated Grade I-winning sprinter, he stands at Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms in Kentucky and is known for producing speedy, well-made progeny.
Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher called Army Mulea “super-talented horse” while top jockey John Velasquez described him as “a monster”. He won his track debut at Belmont Park in 2017 by 8.5 lengths while registering a 98 eSpeed. He next took a 6-furlong allowance race at Gulfstream Park by 7.5 lengths with a 105 eSpeed. He then moved up sharply in class to contest the Grade I Carter Handicap over seven furlongs at Aqueduct. Taking the lead in the straight, Army Mule broke away and came home 6.25 lengths clear while clocking a 124 eSpeed.
Army Mule retired as the third-best sprinter trained in the United States and began his stud career in 2019. Currently ranked #2 by percentage of stakes winners to starters, he has sired six crops of racing age, 510 foals, 209 starters, 21 stakes winners, and 149 winners who have collectively earned more than $17.8 million. His progeny include 2YO Kentucky Juvenile Stakes winner Pinky Finger (2 starts, 2 wins, $203K+ in earnings), G1 winner One in Vermillion (bought for $26,000, earned $653,840), G2 winner Federal Judge (bought for $40,000, sold for $200,000, earned $464,400), and G3 winner Danse Macabre (bought for $11,000 as a yearling, sold for $55,000 as a 2YO, made $1,094,753 in 6 wins).
About the Dam
Courcelette’s dam, GB-bred Makisupa, was bought as a yearling for $178,719 USD in 2018 and raced five times at Gulfstream Park going 2-1-0. She was sired by Great Britain’s Muhaarar, a champion sprinter and multiple G1 winner who earned more than $1.8 million on the track going 7-0-3 in 11 starts.
Muhaarar was sired by GB-bred Oasis Dream, a multiple G1 winner and 2003 Breeders’ Cup Mile participant who retired after nine starts with a record of 4-2-1 and $694,000 in purse earnings.
