Almutawakel was a British Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 racehorse

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

 sired by Machiavellian and the Irish stakes-winning Green Desert mare, Elfaslah.

Almutawakel's most prominent victory came in the 1999 Dubai World Cup

Dubai World Cup

The Dubai World Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 and from 2010 at the Meydan Racecourse in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates...

. Going into the race at 44-1 and considered a heavy underdog

Underdog (competition)

An underdog is a person or group in a competition, frequently in electoral politics, sports and creative works, who is popularly expected to lose. The party, team or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the rare case where an underdog wins, the outcome is an upset. These...

, Almutawakel held his own and, with jockey Richard Hills at the helm, won the race by ¾ lengths. He beat out several prominent horses, such as Malek, Silver Charm

Silver Charm

Silver Charm is an American Champion Thoroughbred race horse. Trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Gary Stevens, Silver Charm will be remembered most for winning the 1997 Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes in the Triple Crown....

, Daylami

Daylami

Daylami is a retired Thoroughbred Champion racehorse and active sire who was bred in Ireland, but trained in France, Dubai and the United Kingdom. In a career which lasted from 1996 and 1999, he raced in five different countries and won seven Group 1/Grade I races...

 and Victory Gallop

Victory Gallop

Victory Gallop was an American-based Thoroughbred racehorse. As a three-year-old he won the Belmont Stakes denying Real Quiet the Triple Crown...

, winning the $3 million first place prize in the process. At the time, it was the first Dubai World Cup win for Sheikh Hamdan

Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum

Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum is the Deputy Ruler of Dubai and the Minister of Finance and Industry of the United Arab Emirates . He is the second son of the late ruler, Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum ....

, who has since produced another winner, Invasor

Invasor (horse)

Invasor is a Thoroughbred racehorse bred in Argentina by Haras Clausan. The winner of the 2005 Triple Crown in Uruguay, he was later purchased by Sheik Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum who paid approximately USD 1.4 million for the horse...

. He was also the first of four wins at the Dubai World Cup for Godolphin Racing.

Prior to winning the Dubai World Cup, Almutawakel won the 1998 Prix Jean Prat

Prix Jean Prat

The Prix Jean Prat is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Chantilly over a distance of 1,600 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in early July.-History:...

 at Chantilly

Chantilly, Oise

Chantilly is a small city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune in the department of Oise.It is in the metropolitan area of Paris 38.4 km...

. He also finished as the runner up in the 1998 Grand Prix de Paris

Grand Prix de Paris

The Grand Prix de Paris is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in July.-History:...

. Almutawakel finished his racing career in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. In 2000, trained by Mark Hennig

Mark A. Hennig

Mark A. Hennig is an American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer.Born into a horse racing family, his father, John Hennig, was also a trainer. After working with his father, Mark Hennig became an assistant to Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas before going out on his own in 1991.-References:*...

, he finished second in the Woodward Stakes

Woodward Stakes

The Woodward Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race and is one of the premier races for older thoroughbred horses in the United States. Named for prominent racehorse owner, George Nicholas Woodward, it is run at 1⅛ miles on the dirt for a purse of $750,000.The Woodward was run as a handicap in...

 and the Oaklawn Handicap

Oaklawn Handicap

The Oaklawn Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the first week of April at Oaklawn Park Race Track in Hot Springs, Arkansas....

 and third in the Jockey Club Gold Cup

Jockey Club Gold Cup

The Jockey Club Gold Cup, established in 1919, is a prestigious thoroughbred flat race open to horses of either gender three-years-old and up. It is typically the main event of the fall meeting at Belmont Park, just as the Belmont Stakes is of the spring meeting and the Travers Stakes is of the...

. Almutawakel did not win a race after his first place finish at the 1999 Dubai World Cup.

Almutawakel finished his carrier with a 4-4-1 in 19 career starts. Overall, he accumulated $3,643,021 in earnings. In 2007, after failing to respond to treatment for chronic arthritis

Arthritis

Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....

, Almutawakel was euthanized in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

at H.H. Sheikh Hamdan's Derrinstown Stud. At the time his death, Almutawakel sired eight stakes winners for a grand total of $5,765,852 in earnings.