Doyen (foaled 22 April 2000) is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse, who was bred in Ireland but trained in France, Dubai and the United Kingdom during a racing career which lasted from 2002 to 2005. He is best known for winning the 2004 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

Background

Doyen is a tall, rangy bay horse with a large white

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

, bred at the

Kildangan Stud Darley Stud is located at Dalham Hall, the global breeding operation owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the Ruler of Dubai and vice-president of the United Arab Emirates. It is on the outskirts of Newmarket, Suffolk, the internati ...

in Ireland by his owner

Sheikh Mohammed Sheikh Muhammad (1560–1650) was a Muslim saint-poet who is venerated by Hindus. Sheikh Muhammad or alternatively Sheikh Muhammed, Sheikh Mohammad, Sheikh Mohammed may also refer to (in chronological birth order): * Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wah ...

and raised at the

Dalham Hall Dalham Hall is a country house and estate, located in the village of Dalham, Suffolk, near Newmarket, and west of Bury St Edmunds. Owners of the Dalham estate have included: *c.1050-1240 Peche Family *1240-1320 English Crown Estate (from 1303, ...

Stud at Newmarket. He was sired by Sadler's Wells out of the mare Moon Cactus, making him a full brother to the Oaks winner Moonshell.

Racing career

2002: two-year-old season

Doyen was originally sent into training with André Fabre in France. He was not a precocious colt and did not appear on a racecourse until the autumn of 2002, when he ran fifth in a minor event for unraced horses at Maisons-Laffitte.

2003: three-year-old season

At three, Doyen proved himself to be a top-class middle-distance performer in a campaign which saw him moved up in grade with each race. After capturing a minor race at Saint-Cloud, he won the Listed Coupe des Trois Ans at Lyon-Parilly "easily" by two lengths. Moved up to Group Race standard for the first time in June 2004, he outpaced his opponents to record a four

length Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Interna ...

win in the

Prix du Lys The Prix du Lys is a Conditions races, Group 3 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred Colt (horse), colts and geldings. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse, Longch ...

at Longchamp. On Doyen's next start he ran in the Prix Niel at Longchamp in September. As usual the race attracted a top-class field, including the Prix du Jockey-Club winner, Dalakhani and The Derby winner,

Kris Kin Kris Kin (5 March 2000 – 31 August 2012) was a thoroughbred race horse and active sire. He was bred in the United States but was trained in England during his racing career. In a career that lasted just over a year, from October 2002 to October ...

. Doyen raced in last place in the early stages, before moving into contention in the straight. He was the horse to seriously challenge Dalakhani, finishing a length and a half behind the

Aga Khan Aga Khan ( fa, آقاخان, ar, آغا خان; also transliterated as ''Aqa Khan'' and ''Agha Khan'') is a title held by the Imām of the Nizari Ismāʿīli Shias. Since 1957, the holder of the title has been the 49th Imām, Prince Shah Karim ...

's colt, with Kris Kin well beaten in third. On his final start of the year he was made 11-2 third favourite for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. He raced prominently, before being moved wide to make a challenge in the straight, but although he stayed on well he was unable to reach the lead, and finished fourth to Dalakhani.

2004: four-year-old season

In the winter of 2003/4 Doyen was transferred from France to the Sheikh's Godolphin stable. On his debut for Saeed bin Suroor he ran second to

Warrsan {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Warrsan , image_name = , caption = Racing silks of Saeed Manana , sire = Caerleon , grandsire = Nijinsky , dam = Lucayan Princess , damsire = High Line , sex = Stallion , foaled = 1998 , country = Ir ...

in the Coronation Cup at Epsom. He was then sent to

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and ...

for the

Hardwicke Stakes The Hardwicke Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 211 yards (2,406 metres), and ...

, where he produced his best performance to date, taking the lead in the straight and pulling clear to win by six lengths in a course record time of 2:26.53. Frankie Dettori, riding the colt for the fifth time was enthusiastic- "What a performance – he just took my breath away,". So impressive was Doyen's victory that he was made clear favourite for the following month's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes over the same course and distance, and he was even blamed for the absence of top-class three-year-olds in the race. On the day, he fully justified his reputation, winning by an easy three lengths in a style described The Independent's correspondent as " simply magnificent". Dettori praised the colt saying, "I have never had a horse travel like he did today...he was absolutely devastating". The King George win could have been the first of many Group One successes, and

missed seeing his colt Rule of Law win the St Leger in order to watch Doyen run in the Irish Champion Stakes. He started odds-on favourite but ran poorly, failing to produce his usual acceleration and finishing seventh. The

Champion Stakes The Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlong ...

saw a similar disappointment, with Doyen again starting favourite but finishing well beaten behind Haafhd. Three more unplaced efforts in 2005 saw him retired to stud.

Assessment

In the

2004 World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings The 2004 World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings was the inaugural edition of the World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings. It is an assessment of racehorses which was issued by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) in January 20 ...

Doyen was awarded a figure of 127, making him the third best racehorse in the world, the highest-rated European and the highest-rated turf performer.

Stud career

Doyen was retired to stand at his owner's

Dalham Hall Stud Darley Stud is located at Dalham Hall, the global breeding operation owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the Ruler of Dubai and vice-president of the United Arab Emirates. It is on the outskirts of Newmarket, Suffolk, the internati ...

at Newmarket. In 2009 he was transferred to Gestüt Auenquelle in Germany. To date the best of his progeny have been Lady's Purse (

Prix de Royaumont The Prix de Royaumont is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Chantilly over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is scheduled to take pla ...

) and Sneek A Peek (

Premio Federico Tesio The Premio Federico Tesio is a Group 2 flat horse race in Italy open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Milan over a distance of 2,200 metres (about 1 mile and 3 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take place each year in Septem ...

). He has since been transferred to Sunnyhill Stud,

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

, Ireland.

Pedigree

References

External links

Doyen wins the King George
{{King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes Winners 2000 racehorse births Racehorses trained in France Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Racehorses bred in Ireland Cartier Award winners Thoroughbred family 1-s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winners