A magnificent hat-trick of Group 1 triumphs from Ervedya in 2015 signaled the arrival of Siyouni as a leading sire in Europe. Born from Siyouni’s first season at the Haras de Bonneval, Ervedya proved to be a fantastic flag-bearer for her sire. The elegant filly turned heads during her juvenile season, winning the Gr 3 Prix de Cabourg and then taking third place in the Gr 1 Prix Morny and second in the Gr 1 Prix Marcel Boussac.
Trained by Jean-Claude Rouget, Ervedya realised her potential at three. She became the first Classic runner and winner for Siyouni with a dominant performance in the Gr 1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches in May, on a day when fellow Haras de Bonneval resident Makfi accomplished the same feat in the colts’ equivalent, the Poule d’Essai des Poulains, thanks to his son Make Believe.
After her demonstration at Longchamp, Ervedya was sent to Royal Ascot to take on the best English and Irish fillies in the Gr 1 Coronation Stakes. Under a masterful ride from Christophe Soumillon, she produced an electric turn of foot to secure victory in the final stages of this prestigious race. The daughter of Siyouni became the first horse to carry H.H. the Aga Khan’s famous silks to Royal Ascot glory since the much-missed Azamour who won the Gr 1 St James’s Palace Stakes in 2004.
Ervedya returned to Longchamp for her third success at the highest level, this time against her elders and the colts in the Gr 1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp in September. The filly made light work of the very soft ground which prevailed at the Parisian track and ran out the comfortable winner of this mile contest, in which her father Siyouni had finished third on his final outing in 2010.
The exploits of top-class miler Ervedya contributed in propelling Siyouni, a son of Pivotal, to become Europe’s leading second-crop sire in 2015. The Gr 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère winner and high-class miler, represents a new era for the Aga Khan Studs, being out of Listed victrix Sichilla, by Danehill, who integrated the Aga Khan Studs operation with the acquisition of Jean-Luc Lagardère’s bloodstock in 2005.
