“and it is narrated only by Saʿid ibn Zayd.” I say: This hadith comes solely through Saʿid ibn Zayd—the brother of Hammad ibn Zayd—and opinions about him diverge: some rate him reliable, others weaken him, so one must beware of possible error on his part; see Tahdhib al-kamal 10:441–444. (1) In the Musnad the verb appears as fa-bahisha; in another recension as fa-intasha; while copy Ḥ has fa-bashsha. Abu ʿUbayd explains in his Gharib (3:144): “When a person sees something, admires it, desires it, hurries to take it, and rejoices in it, one says: qad bahisha ilayh.” (2) Hadith no. 2577; also reported by Ahmad 2:157, no. 6466; al-Daraqutni 4:299; Ibn Hibban, Sahih 10:543, no. 4688; and Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Tamhid 14:84—all through ʿUqbah ibn Khalid Abu Masʿud al-Mujaddar → ʿUbayd Allah ibn ʿUmar → Nafiʿ → Ibn ʿUmar. I say: The wording “and he gave preference to the qurrah (fully-grown horses) at the finish” is unusual. Many transmitters who relate the hadith from ʿUbayd Allah ibn ʿUmar do not mention this phrase, and the same omission appears in all the routes that pass through Nafiʿ listed earlier. Hence the phrase is anomalous (shadh). Al-Daraqutni already noted that ʿUqbah ibn Khalid is alone in citing this addition; see Tahqiq al-Musnad 10:490. Even so, the isnad was judged sound by Ibn ʿAbd al-Hadi and Ibn al-Mulaqqin; see al-Muharrar 2:510 and Tuhfat al-muhtaj 2:555. Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr remarked: “If the report of ʿUqbah is sound …”; al-Tamhid 14:84.