Reliable Man’s sire Dalakhani dies at 21 

Former Cornerstone Stud shuttler Dalakhani (Darshaan), sire of Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) winner and emerging Westbury Stud shuttle stallion Reliable Man, has died at the age of 21. 

Bred and raced by HH Aga Khan, Dalakhani was by his owner’s homebred Prix du Jockey Club (Gr 1, 2100m) winner Darshaan (Shirley Heights) out of the blue-hen mare Daltawa (Miswaki). 

A Group 1 winner at both two and three, he won eight of his nine career starts for Alain de Royer-Dupré, himself capturing the French Derby in 2003 prior to landing the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Gr 1, 2400m) that October. Those exploits earned him the coveted titles of champion three-year-old and Horse of the Year. 

Dalakhani retired to Ireland’s Gilltown Stud in 2004 and he has subsequently produced 55 stakes winners worldwide, ten of those at the elite level. Included in that roll of honour are Reliable Man, who maintained the family tradition by himself winning the Prix du Jockey Club for Dupré in 2011 – he would later complete his Queen Elizabeth heroics under the care of Chris Waller – alongside Conduit, Seismos and Defoe. 

Dalakhani shuttled to Cornerstone for the 2013, 2014 and 2015 breeding seasons, covering 97, 97 and 87 mares respectively. He has so far produced 66 winners from 130 runners in Australia, headlined by Reliable Man and Danehill Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) winner Dalasan, who also ran second in last year’s Australian Derby (Gr 1, 2500m).

Dalakhani was pensioned from covering duties in 2016 and spent his retirement at Haras d’Ouilly in Normandy.