The Aga Khan, considered one of racing’s most famed owner-breeders – whose lengthy record of champions contains Shergar – has died on the age of 88.
Born December 13 1936, His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV was the son of Prince Aly Khan and his first spouse Princess Tajuddawlah Aga Khan, previously Joan Yarde-Buller.
The Aga Khan spent his early years in Kenya, earlier than attending the world-renowned Institut Le Rosey boarding college in Switzerland and shifting on to Harvard, the place he was learning when he turned the non secular chief of the Ismaili Muslims on the dying of his grandfather in 1957, on the age of simply 20.
His household had already loved enormous racing success, along with his grandfather proudly owning a minimum of 5 Derby winners in Blenheim (1930), Bahram (1935), Mahmoud (1936), My Love (1948) and Tulyar (1952), whereas the affect of his nice mare Mumtaz Mahal remains to be prevalent within the Aga Khan’s bloodstock in the present day.
The Aga Khan inherited these racing pursuits from his father following his dying in a automotive accident in Might 1960, with star filly and twin Basic winner Petite Etoile amongst these handed to his possession.
It was within the Nineteen Seventies that the Aga Khan actually reignited the equine connection, constructing a brand new stud in Normandy, the Haras de Bonneval, in 1973 earlier than opening the Aiglemont complicated in Chantilly 5 years later.
The property encompasses a 100-box coaching centre and the well-known Les Aigles gallops, in addition to a chateau the place the Aga Khan resided and an workplace from the place his worldwide enterprise pursuits, which included an airline, resorts and charity work, have been carried out.
The Aga Khan’s bloodstock empire was constructed on homebreds, though he infused new blood alongside the best way by buying the late Francois Dupre’s inventory in 1977, and that of the late Marcel Boussac in 1978 and Jean-Luc Lagardere in 2005, reaping wealthy rewards with stallion Linamix among the many last-named batch of purchases.
The addition of the brand new runners within the late Nineteen Seventies precipitated a return to racing in England for the Aga Khan, who had campaigned his runners in France to that time, with Sir Michael Stoute and Fulke Johnston Houghton being handed a few of his bluebloods.
The 1979 draft to Stoute contained arguably probably the most well-known horse ever to sport the inexperienced and pink silks within the form of ill-fated Derby winner Shergar, a sensational Epsom victor by 10 lengths in 1981 and the primary of 5 such winners.
There was additional Epsom glory for Stoute and the Aga Khan in 1986, as Shahrastani held the seemingly irresistible cost of Dancing Courageous.
However the Aga Khan’s love affair with British racing got here to a crashing halt when his filly, Aliysa, was disqualified from the 1989 Oaks after testing constructive for camphor, a prohibited substance.
Following a protracted battle with the Jockey Membership, the Aga Khan – whose daughter Princess Zahra Aga Khan can be a profitable proprietor – withdrew all his horses from Britain in response to what he felt have been failings within the British testing system, with Stoute and Luca Cumani dropping a very good chunk of their strings because of the choice.
He lastly ended his self-imposed boycott of British racing at Royal Ascot in 1995, earlier than once more sending horses to be skilled by Cumani and Stoute, with future champion Kalanisi and Derby second Daliapour seemingly cementing a renewed relationship with Cumani, who had skilled his 1988 Derby victor Kahyasi.
Nonetheless, their affiliation got here to a different abrupt halt in 2000 when two of the proprietor’s horses skilled by Cumani returned constructive assessments, prompting him to take away 30 horses from the Newmarket-based Italian.
He continued to have horses with Stoute, however the Aga Khan’s pursuits have been as soon as once more concentrated in Eire and France.
In 2008, his good unbeaten champion filly Zarkava, skilled by Alain de Royer-Dupre, received the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and was named Cartier Horse of the 12 months. 5 years earlier the Royer-Dupre-trained Dalakhani was equally beautiful within the Arc.
In 2013 it was introduced John Oxx wouldn’t obtain a brand new batch of Aga Khan yearlings – bringing to an finish an excellent run of success that included Sinndar’s by no means to be forgotten Derby, Irish Derby and Arc treble in 2000.
The Aga Khan’s Irish stars have been as a substitute concentrated with Dermot Weld, who offered a fifth Derby win in 2016 with Harzand, who memorably triumphed underneath the late Pat Smullen, regardless of selecting up a foot harm on the day of the race. Harzand went on to offer the Aga Khan a fifth Derby and Irish Derby double when scoring on the Curragh later the identical month.
It was Weld who additionally produced the Aga Khan’s final British Basic winner within the 2024 Oaks victor Ezeliya.
The Aga Khan’s sporting pursuits prolonged additional than racing and he was a extremely achieved skier who represented Iran on the 1964 Winter Olympics, taking over the slalom, large slalom and downhill occasions.
He was additionally a long-term pal of Queen Elizabeth II, gifting her the filly Estimate, who went on to a well-known success within the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot – a gathering the place the pair would usually watch collectively.
A notable supporter of Irish racing, the Aga Khan was one of many driving forces behind the redevelopment of the Curragh, with the plan finally coming to fruition in 2019 when he joined the then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to formally unveil the brand new Aga Khan Stand.
The Aga Khan is survived by three sons and his daughter.
