Dual Derby Winner Harzand Retired To Stud

DUBLIN, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News -24th oct,2016) : Epsom and Irish Derby champion Harzand will not race next year after being retired to stand as a stallion at owner the Aga Khan's Gilltown Stud in Ireland it was announced on Monday.

Harzand -- whose last start was a disappointing ninth in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe earlier this month -- delivered top Irish trainer Dermot Weld his first ever win in the Epsom Derby in June.

Ridden by Pat Smullen it was a remarkable performance as he had been a doubtful starter up to an hour before the race having spread a plate (lost his shoe) on the flight over from Ireland. However, he made light of the pre-race concerns to beat the favourite US Army Ranger by 1 1/2 lengths and give the Aga Khan a fifth win equalling his grandfather's tally.

"He's been a wonderful horse to train. I've enjoyed training him. He's won two Derbies for us. He's a beautifully-made colt, very sound," Weld told At The Races. "It's been a team effort. It hasn't been the easiest -- when he spread the plate before Epsom it was nerve-racking -- but it was his guts and courage that won the day." The Aga Khan bought back Gilltown Stud in 1992 -- having sold it in 1974 -- following the kidnapping of another of his Epsom Derby winners Shergar, who was taken in 1983 from Ballymany Stud, which he has since sold.