Aga Khan

Leading trainer Johnny Murtagh has identified the leading juvenile prospects that he is looking forward to unleashing this season but spoke out about the increased levels of frustration that trainers are facing when it comes to hanging on to their big-name stars due to what he describes as stagnant levels of prize-money in Ireland.  The Group 1-winning handler has called on Horse Racing Ireland, who announced a €1.4 million increase to prize-money [to €69.4 million] for 2024 in the latest budget, not to rest on its laurels.  Murtagh, who runs...

Prix du Jockey Club winner and Arc runner-up Vadeni (Fr), who also landed the Eclipse S. at Sandown in a spellbinding 3-year-old campaign, has been retired.  The highest rated son of Churchill (Ire) won five times for Jean-Claude Rouget and carried the colours of the Aga Khan. He will join the stallion ranks at Haras de Bonneval, where he will stand alongside Siyouni (Fr), Zarak (Fr) and Dariyan (Fr). No fee has been decided on yet.  Georges Rimaud, manager for the Aga Khan Studs in France, commented, "We are delighted...

Tahiyra (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) has returned home to Gilltown Stud for a well-deserved break after her Royal Ascot heroics and, according to Pat Downes, the triple Group 1 winner could kick-start her autumn campaign in the G1 Matron S. at Leopardstown on Irish Champions Weekend.  Downes, the Aga Khan's manager of the Irish studs, has said that the most impressive aspect of Tahiyra's G1 Coronation S. success was the fact that Dermot Weld's charge was able to win despite the race not being run to suit. Downes said, "We were...

One day after the Aga Khan-bred and -consigned Shahnameh (Fr) (Churchill {Ire}) topped the proceedings at the Arqana Vente d'Elevage, another of the operation's 3-year-old filly was the star turn in Deauville, as the unraced Vazzana (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) was knocked down for €120,000 to lead the way during the penultimate session of the auction. Catalogued at lot 716, the bay filly is a daughter of Vazira (Fr) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), winner of three of her six career starts, including the 2014 G1 Prix Saint-Alary at Longchamp one start...

Carini (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), a latest runner-up in the Oct. 19 Listed Prix Vulcain for the Aga Khan and Francis-Henri Graffard, was knocked down to Nicolas Lefevre's Equos Racing on the phone with Astute Bloodstock's Louis Le Metayer for €600,000 during Monday's horses-in-training session of the Arqana Autumn Sale in Deauville. The 3-year-old gelding is a winner of three of his six lifetime appearances. "I bought it with my former boss, Louis Le Metayer, for one of his Australian clients," commented Lefevre. "It's been four years since we bought together,...

The Aga Khan Studs is celebrating 100 years of success in 2022, making the emergence of Vadeni (Fr) (Churchill {Ire}) as one of the most talented colts in training and Zarak (Fr) being one of the hottest young stallion prospects in Europe all the more fitting.     Georges Rimaud has played an integral role in the success of the organisation. The manager of HH Aga Khan's studs in France, Rimaud reflected on the success of Vadeni in Saturday's G1 Coral-Eclipse at Sandown and shared his delight at the popularity of...

One of the most exciting horses in France, Vadeni (Fr) (Churchill {Ire}) is set to take his chance in the G1 Coral-Eclipse at Sandown on Saturday, and connections are expecting a massive performance.  Vadeni, trained by Jean-Claude Rouget, was supplemented at a cost of £50,000 for the race on Monday. A hugely impressive winner of the G1 Qatar Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly when last seen, the French raider is a general 2-1 favourite to follow up on that success at Sandown.   Georges Rimaud, the Aga Khan's racing manager,...

One hundred years on from the late Aga Khan III's initial foray into European racing, the internationally-renowned and respected operation were celebrating a momentous Classic victory as the Jean-Claude Rouget-trained Vadeni (Fr) (Churchill {Ire}--Vaderana {Fr}, by Monsun {Ger}) dominated Chantilly's G1 Qatar Prix du Jockey Club. Always travelling easily in the slipstream of the leaders from his favourable inside draw, the May 10 G3 Prix de Guiche winner pounced on the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains hero Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) with 300 metres remaining and a furlong later...

Kick-starting a new weekly Q&A series in TDN Europe, former champion trainer John Oxx, whose spellbinding career will forever be remembered through his masterful handling of Sea The Stars (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}), Sinndar (Ire) (Grand Lodge) and Ridgewood Pearl (GB) (Indian Ridge {Ire}), sat down with Brian Sheerin to talk all things racing and breeding. The dual Derby-winning trainer speaks about Epsom, how delighted he is that Sea The Stars has a top-notch miler in Baaeed and his life in retirement.   Brian Sheerin: There are few weeks in...

Leading breeze-up consignor Johnny Hassett has labelled the collection of horses on offer at the Arqana Breeze-Up Sale as the best bunch he has ever seen in one place at a given time and put forward colts by Siyouni (Fr) (lot 149) and Expert Eye (GB) (lot 43) from his eight-strong Bloodstock Connection draft as the most likely to make the biggest impression on buyers. Malavath (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), runner-up to Pizza Bianca (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and Rockemperor (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor...

Parislongchamp's Prix de la Michodiere for unraced fillies was the last race on the card on Thursday and it could be that the mile contest staged in gloom unearthed a future luminary as The Aga Khan's Dolia (Fr) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) earned TDN Rising Star status. Awkwardly away from the stalls, the second foal out of the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic heroine Dolniya (Fr) (Azamour {Ire}) was keen early tracking the tepid tempo set by the Niarchos Family's La Fiamma (War Front). Green throughout, the imposing bay was able to...

8.25 ParisLongchamp, Debutantes, €27,000, 3yo, f, 8fT DOLIA (FR) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) is the second foal out of The Aga Khan's G1 Dubai Sheema Classic heroine Dolniya (Fr) (Azamour {Ire}) from the celebrated family of Daylami (Ire) and Dalakhani (Ire). Alain de Royer-Dupre also has charge of the February-foaled bay, whose opponents include the Niarchos Family's La Fiamma (War Front), a Pascal Bary trainee who is the first foal out of the GIII Modesty H. winner Faufiler (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and therefore a granddaughter of the illustrious Six Perfections (Fr)...