In his first attempt at top-level competition, Shakeel was a brave winner of the Gr.1 Grand Prix de Paris, the feature event of Saint-Cloud’s Bastille Day card. The progressive colt gave his all in the final stages of the mile and a half contest, to deny long-time leader Permian in a photo finish. Shakeel provided the 100th Group 1 victory of the career of H.H. the Aga Khan’s retained jockey Christophe Soumillon, and the 50th Stakes winner for his sire Dalakhani.

The progressive colt has finished in the first three of all of his six outings to date, including a head second in the Gr.2 Prix Hocquart. The Aga Khan Studs manager Georges Rimaud commented, “We have been patient with him as this is a horse who has needed time to learn. We have been rewarded for our patience with this victory, which is all the more pleasing as Shakeel showed great courage to reel in a more experienced horse.”

By the recently retired Dalakhani, Shakeel hails from one of the Aga Khan Studs most prolific maternal lines, tracing back to Prix de Diane heroine Shemaka as his third dam. His unraced dam Shamiyra (Medicean) is a half-sister to Group 3 victrix Shemiyla, out of Listed winner Shemala. In addition to Shemala, blue hen Shemaka has produced dual Group scorer Shemima, also by Dalakhani, and Listed winner Shemaya, dam of two Stakes performers and granddam of Group 2 winner Shimraan.

Shakeel is the first offspring of Shamiyra, and is an advertisement of the high quality of Aga Khan Studs bloodstock sold at public auction as his dam was presented at Arqana’s December sale in 2014, where she was purchased by the Haras de Montaigu for €190,000 .

The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, won by his sire in 2003, is a possibility for Shakeel and he is now likely to run in the Gr.2 Prix Niel at Chantilly in September. Shakeel is the third winner of the Grand Prix de Paris to carry H.H. the Aga Khan’s famous green and red silks in the last decade, after Bekhabad in 2010 and Montmartre in 2008.