Meanwhile, in France in the 1980's, the Aga Khan won three stagings of the Prix du Jockey-Club with Darshaan, Mouktar, and Natroun. The best of these horses was Darshaan, according to the compilers of the International Classification. In the hands of Yves Saint-Martin, Darshaan wore down Sadler's Wells by one and a half lengths with Rainbow Quest half a length away 3rd.

"The thoroughbred is what it is because of the Derby" - in this fashion Signor Federico Tesio bestowed his imprimatur on the Epsom Classic. But even he would now have to concede that no 1-2-3 in any twentieth century English Derby could match the subsequent stud achievements of the first three home in the French Derby of 1984.

Dalakhani, by Darshaan, impressive winner of the Gr III Prix des Chênes at Longchamp before taking the Gr I Critérium International

At the end of his three-year-old career His Highness retired Darshaan to Ballymany Stud and afterwards moved him to Gilltown. His seven hundred plus winners at home and abroad include the 2,000 Guineas victor Mark of Esteem, the Group I Breeders' Cup Turf winner Kotashaan, and Dalakhani, winner of last year’s Group I Criterium International and half brother to Gilltown Stud based Emirates World Champion Daylami. Nonetheless, his primary value to breeders has to be the stud quality of his fillies, for these broodmares have already offered convincing evidence that this will be an enduring legacy. Group/Grade I winners from Darshaan mares include Sendawar (Poule d'Essai des Poulains etc.), High Chaparral (Epsom Derby, Irish Derby and Racing Post Trophy), Islington (Nassau Stakes et Yorkshire Oaks), Zainta (Prix de Diane etc.), Milan (St. Leger), Sulk (Prix Marcel Boussac), Alborada (Champion Stakes twice), Ebadiyla (Irish Oaks etc.), Edabiya (Moyglare Stud Stakes), Astarabad (Prix Ganay), Greek Dance (Grosser Dallmayr-Preis), Enzeli (Ascot Gold Cup)... In the words of Tony Morris, the Racing Post's breeding expert: "Darshaan's last three-year-olds will race in 2005, by which time his tally of 30 individual Pattern or Graded winners will surely have grown appreciably and his status as Europe's most successful broodmare sire will no doubt be even more obvious than now ." (25/09/01)

Natroun, winner in 1987 of the Prix du Jockey-Club.

His Highness' 1985 French Derby winner Mouktar was also highly successful. His single career defeat took place on fast ground in the Budweiser Irish Derby. The top two-year-old of his generation in France, Mouktar's Prix Hocquart win made him the favourite at 1 to 5 in the Prix du Jockey-Club and he won accordingly. Two years later Natroun, a supplementary entry, provided Yves Saint-Martin with his final French Derby mount. Pouncing late he caught the subsequent Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Trempolino to score by a head. It should be noted that no currently active owner has won more major European Derbys than the Aga Khan.

Mouktar, a Prix du Jockey-Club winner in 1985, who was beaten only once in his career.

Towards the end of 1990 the Aga Khan decided to withdraw his racehorses from England following the disqualification of Aliysa after winning the 1989 Epsom Oaks. Before returning to this country he had established a significant presence at The Curragh with John Oxx, which is still on-going. Between 1991 and 1995 the Aga Khan was Ireland's leading race-winning owner in the country in statistics that comprised both Flat and National Hunt Racing. This is all the more impressive given that the many winning jumpers bred by him all raced for other owners.

In this review, almost all the great successes were in events with a long history behind them. An exception is the triumph of Lashkari in the first running of the Breeders' Cup Series, a concept promoted in 1984 by John Gaines. Lashkari's victory in the Breeders' Cup Turf over All Along, the previous year's Prix de l'Arc winner, enabled the Aga Khan to become the first European in the dual role of owner and breeder to have his name recorded on this great international register.

The Breeders' Cup series had its critics from the start. They believed the timing of the fixture so late in the year defeated its objective. The critics were proved wrong - especially where Lashkari was concerned. A descendant of Qurrat-Al-Ain, one of the original foundation mares, he was a late developing three-year-old who only qualified for his place in the race through a mid-October win in the Prix du Conseil de Paris. His Highness has recently added to his initial Breeders' Cup success by breeding 1999 Turf winner Daylami and both owning/breeding the 2000 Turf winner Kalanisi.