Mus-If (foaled 2 February 1996) was a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse. Originally trained in Ireland, he was a top-class performer as a juvenile in 1998 when he finished second in both the Tyros Stakes and the Futurity Stakes before recording his biggest win in the Group 1 National Stakes. After failing to win as a three-year-old he was sent to the United States and gelded. Returning to the track in 2001 he made little impact in two starts but did much better in the following year when he won five races including the Henry S. Clark Stakes and C. Edmund O'Brien Stakes. Background Mus-If was a bay horse bred in the United Kingdom by Eurostrait Ltd. As a yearling he was consigned to the sales at Deauville in August 1997 and was bought for ₣350,000 by Hamdan Al-Maktoum's Shadwell Estate company. The colt was sent to Ireland and entered training with Dermot Weld. He was one of the best horses sired by Lahib who won the Queen Anne Stakes and the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes in 1991. Lahib's other progeny included Super Tassa, Vicious Circle (Ebor Handicap), Last Resort (Challenge Stakes) and Late Night Out (Supreme Stakes). Mus-If's dam Navajo Love Song showed little racing ability, failing to win in seven starts. She was, however, a descendant of the French broodmare Moira (foaled 1959) who was the female-line ancestor of Dancing Maid. Racing career 1998: two-year-old season Mus-If made his racecourse debut in a maiden race over six furlongs at Leopardstown Racecourse on 18 June in which he started at odds of 7/2 and finished second by a neck to Fable after leading for most of the way. Eighteen days late he recorded his first success in a maiden over seven furlongs at the Curragh. Ridden by Mick Kinane and starting the 6/4 favourite, he took the lead three furlongs out and kept on well in the closing stages to win by a head from Globe Theatre. The colt was moved up in class for the Listed Tyros Stakes over the same course and distance on 15 August for which he started favourite but was beaten into second place by the Jim Bolger-trained filly Arctic Blue. He found another Bolger filly, St Clair Ridge, too good for him in the Group 3 Futurity Stakes two weeks later and was beaten a length and a half into second place. In the Group