The Prix d'Ispahan will be renamed the Prix Aga Khan IV as a tribute to the significant contribution made to racing and breeding by His Highness the Aga Khan IV, who died in February 2025, France Galop announced on Thursday.
This particular race has been chosen in homage to the historic link between the Aga Khan dynasty and ancient Persia. The Prix d'Ispahan, first run in 1873, was intended to honour an official visit by the Shah of Persia to Paris, with the race name being a reference to the ancient Persian capital.
Guillaume de Saint-Seine, President of France Galop, said, “France Galop, in conjunction with the Aga Khan family, wished for one of the Group 1 races on the French racing calendar, the Prix d'Ispahan, to now bear the name of the late His Highness the Aga Khan IV so that the racing world can remember the great figure he was. His impact on racing and breeding is immense, and this prestigious race will ensure that his memory lives on.”
In agreement with the European Pattern Committee, the race will include the title Prix d'Ispahan in parentheses for three years and thereafter will be solely named Prix Aga Khan IV. Since 1964, the Aga Khan silks have been carried to victory six times in the Group 1 contest, with Jour et Nuit III becoming the first winner followed by Silver Shark (1966), Zeddaan (1968), Sendawar (2000), Valixir (2005), and Sageburg (2008).
“My family and I are particularly honoured by France Galop's initiative,” said Princess Zahra Aga Khan. “Renaming the Prix d'Ispahan as the Prix Aga Khan IV will be a remarkable and lasting tribute to his memory, as well as to his passionate commitment to breeding and racing in France. It is all the more symbolic that this honour is associated with a race that my father won six times and which, as such, occupies a unique place in the history of Aga Khan breeding.”
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