King Persian (14 June 1981 – after 1999) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. As a two-year-old in 1983 he won a minor race on his debut and then recorded his biggest win in the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes. He was unplaced in his only other start that season and made little impact in three subsequent races over the next two years. After his retirement he had some success as a sire of National Hunt horses.

Background

King Persian was a chestnut horse bred in Ireland by the Oldtown Stud. He was a very late foal, being born on 14 une, meaning that he was younger than the vast majority of horses of his generation. As a yearling he was put up for auction and sold or 29,000 guineas.^[2] During his racing career he was owned by Seamus McAleer and trained in Ireland by Liam Browne.

His sire, Persian Bold was a successful racehorse who won the Richmond Stakes in 1977. He went on to be a "good" stallion, getting important winners such as Kooyonga, Bold Pilot, Persian Heights, Falcon Flight (Prix Hocquart) and Bold Russian (Celebration Mile).^[3] King Persian's dam Naiad Queen was a minor winner and a half-sister to the dam of Just A Game. She was distantly descended from the Irish broodmare Garganey, who was the female-line ancestor of Brown Jack, Cavan and Indiana.^[4]

Racing career

Stud record

At the end of his racing career, King Persian was retired to become a breeding stallion in Ireland. He sired a few minor winners on the flat but was more successful as a National Hunt stallion, with the best of his offspring being the Topham Chase winner Cregg House.^[6] His last recorded foals were born in 2000.

Pedigree

References