Vadeni (foaled 26 March 2019) is a French

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse. He showed promise as a juvenile in 2021 when he won two of his three races, including the

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Criterium du Fonds Europeen de l'Elevage. In the following spring he won the

Prix de Guiche The Prix de Guiche is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts. It is run over a distance of 1,800 metres (about 1⅛ miles) at Chantilly in May. H ...

and then ran out a five-

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 ...

winner of the

Group One Group One, Group 1, Grade I or G1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. In Europe, the level of races for Thoroughbred racing is determined using the Pattern races, Pattern race sys ...

French Derby The Prix du Jockey Club, sometimes referred to as the French Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Chantilly over ...

. In July, the horse won the

Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown P ...

before being placed in the

Irish Champion Stakes The Irish Champion Stakes ( Irish: Curadh-Dhuais na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,01 ...

and finishing a close second in the

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France, over a distance ...

Background

Vadeni is a bay colt with a 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 ...

and two white

socks A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. In the late ...

bred in France by his owner

Aga Khan IV Shāh Karim al-Husayni (born 13 December 1936), known by the religious title Mawlānā Hazar Imam by his Ismaili followers and elsewhere as Aga Khan IV, is the 49th and current Imam of Nizari Ismailis, a denomination within Shia Islam. He ha ...

. He was sent into training with

Jean-Claude Rouget Jean-Claude Rouget (born 1953 in Normandy) is a French Thoroughbred horse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' phys ...

He was from the first crop of foals sired by

Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

who was the

Cartier Champion Two-year-old Colt The Cartier Champion Two-year-old Colt is an award in European horse racing, founded in 1991, and sponsored by Cartier SA as part of the Cartier Racing Awards. The award winner is decided by points earned in group races plus the votes cast by Britis ...

in 2016 and went on to win the

2000 Guineas The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year at ...

and the

Irish 2000 Guineas The Irish 2,000 Guineas is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is ...

in the following year. Vadeni's dam Vaderana won one minor race from five starts in France, and was a half-sister to several winners including Vadamar (

Prix du Conseil de Paris The Prix du Conseil de Paris is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about miles), and it is sche ...

) and The Pentagon ( Tyros Stakes). As a descendant of the broodmare Vadlava she was related to

Val Royal Val Royal (April 7, 1996 – October 17, 2008) was a France, French-bred Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorse who competed successfully in France and the United States and was best known for winning the 2001 Breeders' Cup Mile. Background Val ...

, Valixir, Valyra and Vazira.

Racing career

2021: two-year-old season

Vadeni began his track career in a

maiden race In horse racing a maiden race is an event for horses that have not won a race. Horses that have not won a race are referred to as maidens. Maiden horse races are held over a variety of distances and under conditions with eligibility based on the se ...

over 1400 metres on good ground at

La Teste-de-Buch La Teste-de-Buch (; oc, La Tèsta (de Bug) ) is a commune in the Gironde department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Southwestern France. It is located on the south shore of Arcachon Bay, lying in the southwestern part of Gironde. It is the largest of fo ...

racecourse on 26 July when he started 1.1/1 favourite against seven opponents. Ridden by Jean-Bernard Eyquem he made a successful debut as he won by

lengths 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 Intern ...

from Loubeisien. On 14 August at

Deauville Racecourse Hippodrome Deauville-La Touques is a race track for thoroughbred horse racing located in Deauville in the Calvados département, in the Normandy ''région'' of France. Originally called Hippodrome de la Touques, it was named for the Touques River ...

the colt was stepped up in class and distance for the

Criterium du Fonds Europeen de l'Elevage over 1600 metres when he was ridden by

Christophe Soumillon Christophe Soumillon (born 4 June 1981) is a Belgian jockey based in France. Career Coming from a racing background, Soumillon is the son of jump jockey Jean-Marc Soumillon. He rode in pony races and left Belgium aged fifteen to go to the racing ...

, who became his regular jockey. Starting the 1.5/1 favourite in a six-runner field he won again as he came home two lengths clear of the Andre Fabre-trained Officer of State. On his final appearance of the year Vadeni started odds on favourite for the

Group 3 Group 3 may refer to: *Group 3 element, chemical element classification *Group 3 (racing), FIA classification for auto racing * Group 3, the third tier of races in worldwide Thoroughbred horse racing * Group 3 image format, Group 3 & Group 4 are ...

Prix de Conde over 1800 metres at

Longchamp Racecourse The Longchamp Racecourse (french: Hippodrome de Longchamp) is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes at the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France. It is used for flat racing and is noted for its variety of interlaced tr ...

on 29 September but finished third behind El Bodegon and True Testament after lookng to be outpaced in the closing stages.

2022: three-year-old season

Vadeni began his second season on 17 April at

when he came home fifth behind his stablemate Welwal in the Group 3

Prix de Fontainebleau The Prix de Fontainebleau is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile) at Long ...

. Despite his defeat Vadeni started favourite when he lined up for the Group 3

over 1800 metres at Chantilly on 10 May when the best fancied of his six opponents was the

Prix Omnium II The Prix Omnium II is a Listed flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile) at Saint-Cloud in late March or early April. History The event ...

winner Dreamflight. After racing towards the rear of the field in the early stages, Vadeni moved into contention on the final turn, took the lead approaching the last 200 metres and won "readily" by two and a half lengths from Machete. After the race Rouget said "watching the race I was awfully confident. Vadeni was perfectly relaxed and that's what you want with him. He's not complicated, he just needs to be in the right rhythm and ridden from behind... I think it is a perfect prep for the

Prix du Jockey Club The Prix du Jockey Club, sometimes referred to as the French Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Chantilly over a ...

." On 5 June at Chantilly Vadeni started the 6.8/1 third choice in the betting behind

Modern Games Modern Games (foaled 17 April 2019) is an Irish-bred British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He was one of the best two-year-olds in the world in 2021 when he won four of his six races including the Somerville Tattersall Stakes in England and ...

and Al Hakeem (Prix de Suresnes) in the Prix du Jockey Club over 2100 metres. The other twelve contenders El Bodegon, Machete, Welwal, Ancient Rome ( Prix des Chenes), Onesto (

Prix Greffulhe The Prix Greffulhe is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old horses. It is run over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles) at Saint-Cloud in May. History The e ...

) and Mister Saint Paul ( Prix La Force). Soumillon tracked the leaders as Modern Games set the pace before Vadeni moved up "smoothly" on the outside and went to the fron 300 metres from the finish. He drew away in the closing stages and won in "impressive" style by five lengths from El Bodegon despite being eased down in the final strides. After the race Soumillon said "after one light tap with the whip, he completely took off. It was impressive and I certainly didn't expect what he did there. It was something totally out of the ordinary", while Rouget commented "I knew he was a horse with a lot of talent even if he is not over-big and today he just exploded... He did it in great style and now he'll need to really show us what he's made of because he didn’t just win today, he strolled away with it. It's a few years since I've seen a horse run away with this race and there were good horses in behind."

Pedigree

*Vadeni is

inbred Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders and o ...

4 × 4 to Northern Dancer, meaning that this stallion appears twice in the fourth generation of his pedigree.

References

{{Cartier Champion Three-year-old Colt 2019 racehorse births Racehorses bred in France Racehorses trained in France Thoroughbred family 20-d Cartier Award winners