HH The Aga Khan

EPSOM, UK--With squally showers and a freezing wind, it wasn't really the day for a 99, unless you're the Aga Khan.  Ezeliya (Fr), the bonny bay filly from a family replete with class and stamina, made the Oaks her own from a long way out, and in so doing broke the Epsom hoodoo of her sire Dubawi (Ire) in becoming the 99th individual Group 1 winner for her stalwart of a breeder. "Days like this are why we all do it," said a beaming Pat Downes, manager of the Aga...

His Highness The Aga Khan's hitherto undefeated Rajapour (Ire) (Almanzor {Fr}--Raydara {Ire}, by Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) took his record to a perfect three-for-three with a comfortable victory in Wednesday's Listed Prix Isonomy at Deauville. Wednesday, Deauville, France PRIX ISONOMY-Listed, €60,000, Deauville, 10-19, 2yo, 8fT, 1:49.53, sf. 1--RAJAPOUR (IRE), 126, c, 2, by Almanzor (Fr) 1st Dam: Raydara (Ire) (GSW-Ire, $136,082), by Rock Of Gibraltar (Ire) 2nd Dam: Raydiya (Ire), by Marju (Ire) 3rd Dam: Raydaniya (Ire), by In The Wings (GB) 1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. O-H H The Aga Khan;...

In the headlines for an infamous moment of pure madness on Friday afternoon, jockey Christophe Soumillon returned to the winner's enclosure aboard His Highness The Aga Khan's Erevann (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}--Ervedya {Fr}, by Siyouni {Fr}) after winning Saturday's G2 Qatar Prix Daniel Wildenstein at ParisLongchamp. The 'TDN Rising Star', who had earlier annexed June's G3 Prix Paul de Moussac at Chantilly, relinquished his perfect record when beaten two necks in the Aug. 14 G1 Prix Jacques Le Marois at Deauville when last seen and lined up as the 7-5 pick...

This season we appear to have been gifted an above average crop of 3-year-olds, along with some truly exciting older horses who have remained in training. It is as it should be, but things don't always work out that way.  France and England exchanged Group 1 races at the weekend: on Saturday it was a case of veni, vidi, vici for Vadeni (Fr) (Churchill {Ire}), who gave France a first victory in the race since 1960, when it was won by the Percy Carter-trained Javelot (Fr) (Fast Fox {Fr}). The...

2.25 Saint-Cloud, Debutantes, €27,000, 3yo, c/g, 10fT DOLAYLI (FR) (Siyouni {Fr}) is the latest progeny of the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic heroine Dolniya (Fr) (Azamour {Ire}) to hit the track, with Christophe Soumillon on The Aga Khan's half-brother to last year's G3 Prix Quincey winner Dilawar (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}). Francis-Henri Graffard also saddles Edzel (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}), a son of the G3 Give Thanks S. scorer Edelmira (Ire) (Peintre Celebre). 3.35 Saint-Cloud, Debutantes, €27,000, 3yo, f, 10fT ZARKA (FR) (Dubawi {Ire}) is a standout on the day as the 10th...

The Aga Khan's Erevann (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}) was the key member of an intriguing Prix Comrade at Saint-Cloud on Tuesday as a son of the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches, G1 Coronation S. and G1 Prix du Moulin heroine Ervedya (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}). Labelled a TDN Rising Star on debut at Deauville in October, the homebred bay duly delivered to take his record to two-for-two in the mile conditions event which serves as a pointer to the Apr. 17 G3 Prix Fontainebleau and ultimately the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains....

Our concluding part of the series reflecting on one hundred years of the Aga Khan Studs begins in the 1980s with the rise of the legendary Shergar and incorporates some of the most celebrated horses of the modern era, as well as a special anniversary for HH the Aga Khan IV. The text is reproduced by kind permission from the Aga Khan Studs' centenary brochure, written by Emma Berry and John Berry.   Shergar's birth came in the year that HH the Aga Khan IV decided to renew his family...

When the gates open for the G1 Hong Kong Vase on Sunday, Ebaiyra (Distorted Humor) will be bidding to round off her trainer Alain de Royer Dupré's 49-year career with a 94th Group 1 win. Now pause. And read that sentence again.  Forty-nine years. Ninety-three Group 1 victories. Almost two per season. And a mind-boggling total of 320 wins at group level.  Royer Dupré's retirement from the training ranks brings the curtain down on a whole chapter of French and international racing history. It is quite fitting that his final...

His Highness The Aga Khan's Makaloun (Fr) (Bated Breath {GB}) suffered the only reverse of a five-race freshman campaign when a close third over 10 furlongs in a hot renewal of October's G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud and bounced back in style to garner Tuesday's G3 Prix de Guiche, dropping down in trip on seasonal return, at Chantilly. Last term's Listed Criterium du Fonds Europeen de l'Elevage and G3 Prix de Conde victor went postward as the 23-10 second choice--for a heat won by Lawman (Fr) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and Almanzor...

The Aga Khan's homebred Ebendi (Ire) (Le Havre {Ire}) will be auctioned on Tuesday, Nov. 24 in a single-horse online sale conducted by Goffs The 3-year-old was forced to miss his recent slot in the Goffs Autumn Horses-In-Training Sale after getting cast in his stable. The winner of a Killarney maiden over a mile and three furlongs in July, he subsequently finished runner-up to Order Of Australia (Ire) (Australia {GB}) at the Curragh in September before the latter's victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Mile at Keeneland. A half-brother to...