VADENI was a rare enough runner in Britain for His Highness the Aga Khan, so it should have been seen as a huge positive that his representatives made the decision to supplement the colt at an enormous fee for the Eclipse Stakes, a bet that returned a rich dividend.

His victory in the Group 1 Prix du Jockey Club-French Derby had put him centre-stage as the best of his generation in France, and now he is a leader in Europe of his classic generation, once again bringing to the forefront the wonderful bloodlines developed over a century of involvement in racing and breeding by the family of the Aga Khan.

While his win in the Group 1 Eclipse Stakes was celebrated at the Aga Khan Studs in France and Ireland, there will have been great joy too in Coolmore, home to the bay’s sire Churchill. Vadeni is the best of the five stakes winners so far from the first crop of the dual Group 1 Guineas-winning son of Galileo (Sadler’s Wells). While Vadeni has shown his best at 10 furlongs, Churchill was supreme at a mile, and though he failed to shine when extended, he was runner-up to Ulysses in the mile and two furlong Group 1 Juddmonte International.

At two Churchill beat Mehmas in the Group 1 Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes before adding the Group 1 Darley Dewhurst Stakes, accounting for Lancaster Bomber and Blue Point. This year Churchill was available at €25,000, down from a high of €35,000 in his first two seasons. Churchill keeps piling on the winners, approaching 60 individuals to date.

Impressive fashion

Trained by Jean-Claude Rouget, Vadeni was a listed winner at Deauville last year, and this season also landed the Group 3 Prix de Guiche at Chantilly in impressive fashion. He has now won five of his seven starts and will, ultimately, be a welcome stallion addition at the Aga Khan Studs.

Vadeni is the sixth foal and fifth winner for his dam Vaderana, and one of three to earn blacktype. His half-sister Vadsena (Makfi) was second three times in listed races in France and is now at stud in Gilltown, while their half-brother Vadiyann (Footstepsinthesand) was listed-placed in Australia. Next to race will be Vazirpour (Camelot), the current two-year-old.

Vaderana was trained by Alain de Royer-Dupré and won at three. She is one of seven winners from Vadawina (Unfuwain), the 2005 Group 1 Prix Saint-Alary winner, five of whom earned blacktype, and three of which were stakes winners. They were variously bred by the Aga Khan and by Barronstown Stud. David and Diane Nagle, using the services of Horse France, bought Vadawina for €600,000 as an 11-year-old.

Investment repaid

At the time of her sale Vadawina was carrying a colt, Valcartier (Redoute’s Choice), and the Nagles got their investment repaid with interest when they sold him as a yearling for €950,000. For the Aga Khan, Vadawina’s best winners were Group 2 Prix du Conseil de Paris scorer and Group 1-placed Vadamar (Dalakhani), and Vedouma (Dalakhani) who was a listed winner at two.

Vadawina’s second foal for Barronstown was The Pentagon (Galileo), winner of the Group 3 Tyros Stakes at two and placed in the Group 1 Racing Post Trophy. She had just one more foal, Chablis (Galileo), who sold as a yearling for 1,550,000gns and went on to be stakes-placed.

This is an Aga Khan family that delivers time and again. Nine years after Vadawina was born, along came her Sea The Stars (Cape Cross) half-sister Vazira. She was from the first crop of the Gilltown sire and she was one of his first Group 1 winners, success coming in the Prix Saint-Alary.

They are two of the four stakes winning daughters of Vadaza (Zafonic), a winning half-sister to Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes and Group 1 Prix d’Ispahan winner Valixir, and to the stakes-winning dam of Vadamos (Monsun), winner of the Group 1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp.