Friday 6 October 2017
The Aga Khan Studs are delighted to announce that ZARAK, the Group I winning son of DUBAWI out of the unbeaten Champion ZARKAVA will be retiring to stud at the Haras de Bonneval in France for the 2018 breeding season.
A Group I winner this year, ZARAK showed a decisive turn of foot to come from last to first when winning the Gr. I Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud against a highly competitive field. Earlier in the season, he was the emphatic winner of the Gr. III Dubai Millenium Stakes on his seasonal debut in Dubai before finishing a close second, beaten a short neck, to the subsequent Arc runner-up, Cloth Of Stars, in the Gr. I Prix Ganay.
A winner at two over a mile on his debut at Deauville, ZARAK was quickly campaigned at the highest level where he showed great consistency. A winner or placed in 10 of his 13 outings, including six times at Group I level, he was notably a fast finishing second to Almanzor in the Gr. I Prix du Jockey Club and in the Gr. II Prix Guillaume d’Ornano.
ZARAK has an exciting stallion’s pedigree and is the offspring of two undisputed Champions. On the sire’s side, ZARAK is a son of DUBAWI, currently one of the leading and most sought after sires in the world. On the dam’s side, ZARAK is out of one of racing’s greats, ZARKAVA. She was an unbeaten Champion that joined the Aga Khan broodmare band after having won five Group I races: the Prix Marcel Boussac at two, the French Guineas, the French Oaks, an astonishing Prix Vermeille after having dwelt at the start and, finally, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. After her final win, her owner and breeder H.H. the Aga Khan said: “Today is the apogée for my breeding operation which dates back 90 years and through five generations of my family”. With ZARAK, ZARKAVA became the first winner of the Arc to produce a Group I winner since the great Urban Sea, dam of Champion sires Galileo and Sea The Stars.
ZARAK’s female line traces back to the foundation mare Mumtaz Mahal, purchased as a yearling by the Aga Khan III in 1922. This family has been nurtured through generations and has produced multiple Champions such as Petite Etoile, Shergar, and more recently, Golden Horn.
Georges Rimaud, manager of the Aga Khan Studs in France, declared: “ZARAK will be a great addition to our roster of stallions. He is a dream come true for a breeder, being a Group I winner out of a Champion and by an excellent stallion. He was a top class racehorse who showed a great turn of foot and he is an attractive individual who is short coupled and strongly built. We are delighted to offer such an exciting stallion to breeders. ZARKAVA’s legacy is set to continue through her son.”
ZARAK’s fee and syndication details will be announced shortly. For any further information, please contact Georges Rimaud (+33 6 71 92 94 57, georges.rimaud@agakhanstuds.com) or Amanda Zetterholm (+33 7 86 25 38 24, amanda.zetterholm@agakhanstuds.com).
