Aga Khan Studs Reveals Blue Chip Mating Plans

Siyouni | The Aga Khan Studs

In addition to its resident sires including lynchpins Siyouni (Fr) and Sea The Stars (Ire), the Aga Khan Studs will lend support to the likes of Lope De Vega (Ire) and Frankel (GB), as well as unproven sires Too Darn Hot (GB) and Ghaiyyath (Ire), with its European broodmare band in 2021.

One of the stars of the Aga Khan Studs broodmare band is undoubtedly the unbeaten G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe victress Zarkava (Ire) (Zamindar). She is currently in foal to Siyouni and will visit Lope De Vega. Triple Group 1 winner Ervedya (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) also visits Lope De Vega, she having recently foaled a Kitten’s Joy filly. Also headed to the Ballylinch sire is Tarana (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}), the dam of last year’s triple Group 1 winner Tarnawa (Ire) (Shamardal) who recently foaled a colt by Frankel (GB). Daryakana (Fr) (Selkirk), the dam of young Haras de Bonneval sire Dariyan (Fr) (Shamardal), is currently in foal to Lope De Vega and visits Sea The Stars.

Zarkava’s listed-winning and Group 1-placed daughter Zarkamiya (Fr) (Frankel {GB}) visits Siyouni, while her half-sister Zaykava (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) is booked to Dubawi. Azmiyna (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), the dam of Australian champion The Autumn Sun (Aus) (Redoute’s Choice {Aus}), likewise visits Dubawi having already produced a Siyouni filly, and the multiple group-winning mare Eziyra (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) visits Siyouni this season after producing a Dubawi filly. 

Zarkava is also the dam of Zarak (Fr), the Group 1 winner who stands at Bonneval and has his first runners this year, and the Aga Khan Studs is lending him further support this season with the likes of Ervedya’s dam Elva (Ire); Daltama (Ire) (Indian Ridge {Ire}), also a Group 1 producer by way of her daughter Dolniya (Fr) (Azamour {Ire}), who herself visits Frankel; and Group 1 winner Shareta (Ire) (Sinndar {Ire}), who has foaled a colt by Le Havre (Ire). Joining Dolniya on the trip to visit Frankel are Siyenica (Fr) (Azamour {Ire}), a half-sister to Siyouni and the dam of Group 1 winner Siyarafina (Fr) (Pivotal {GB}) as well as a Sea The Stars filly this year; and the Group 1-placed Veda (Fr) (Dansili {GB}), who is in foal to Siyouni. Also headed to Banstead Manor is group winner and dual stakes producer Ebiyza (Ire) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}), who visits Kingman (GB) after foaling a Sea The Stars colt. Sayana (Fr) (Galileo {Ire}), another half-sister to Siyouni (Fr), is in foal to Kingman and will then visit Too Darn Hot (GB). Also visiting a young son of Dubawi is Harzand (Ire)’s half-sister Harasiya (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}); she will visit first-season sire Ghaiyyath (Ire).

The aforementioned Siyarafina has produced a Medgalia d’Oro filly from her first mating and will visit Sea The Stars this season, while Group 2 winner Raydara (Ire) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) visits Siyouni after foaling a Sea The Stars colt. (fonte : TDN)

NBC Racing and Hockey Analyst, Eddie Olczyk on the Derby, Handicapping and His Battle with Cancer   It’s busy season for NBC’s Eddie Olczyk. One of the few analysts on national television to dabble in multiple sports, the popular former hockey star is gearing up to broadcast the GI Kentucky Derby as well as the NHL playoffs this spring, and he joined the TDN Writers’ Room podcast presented by Keeneland Tuesday afternoon to discuss it all. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Olczyk talked about his handicapping strategies, what horses he’s eyeing for the first Saturday in May, his battle with cancer and much more.     Opening up about his six-month long chemotherapy fight with stage 3 colon cancer, Olczyk said, “The first thing I thought was, ‘How long do I have to live?’ Colon cancer is very treatable if you can get to it early, but I was at stage 3. I was in one of those situations where it could’ve gone either way. I started my chemo Sept. 11, 2017. It was every two weeks for 48 hours. I was very lucky to have an incredible team of doctors. My wife Diana–we’ll be married 33 years come August–was there every step of the way. I never saw her weak, never saw her down, never saw her worried, but I knew that when I wasn’t around or she was by herself, she let her guard down. I was scared, and the side effects brought me to my knees. It tested my will to live. When I was ready to quit, she gave me a greater inspirational speech than I’d ever heard in any locker room or other setting in my life. She grabbed me and said, ‘Look, you’ve got to fight. For me, for our kids, and for all the people that love you.’ The conversation lasted 30 minutes. I cried for 35 of it. I said, ‘OK, I’m just going to grab my hockey helmet and put it back on and I’m going to go day to day.’”     Elsewhere on the show, the writers reacted to the big racing days at Gulfstream and Dubai, including the tragic breakdown of Zenden (Fed Biz), before celebrating the continued overall progress in reducing racing fatalities in the West Point Thoroughbreds news segment.     Click here to watch the podcast on YouTube.   Click here for the audio-only version. fonte : TDN