The four-year-old Aga Khan bred colt finished third in last year's Irish Derby and was bought privately out of trainer John Oxx's yard by Markus Graff at the year's end. Shalapour ran just once in 2006, finishing second, and in total had won or been placed six times from seven starts. He is undergoing a post mortem, the results of which are not yet known, however a heart problem or ruptured aorta are supsected.

Shalapour was a son of Darshaan out of Shahrastani's half-sister, the Kahyasi mare Shalama, who has a Kalanisi two-year-old filly and a Sendawar yearling filly on the ground. She visited Dalakhani in 2005.