How The Aga Khan helped late Queen enjoy one of her best racing moments

John Warren expects the late Aga Khan’s influence to continue to be felt for “many generations to come” in the racing world.

The renowned owner-breeder died on Tuesday evening at the age of 88, leaving an equine legacy that had been initiated by his grandfather over 100 years ago.

Warren is racing manager to the King and Queen, a role he also fulfilled for Elizabeth II until her death in September 2022.

The Aga Khan was a long-standing friend of the late Queen, with the pair sharing a passion for racing that saw him gift a filly for her 80th birthday.

That filly was Estimate, who went on to win the 2013 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot, sparking famously joyous scenes in the royal box as she triumphed by a neck from Simenon to make the late the first reigning monarch to win the race.

Warren ranks that day as one of the late Queen’s “most enjoyable” on a racecourse and is in no doubt as to the contribution the Aga Khan made to the thoroughbred breed as a whole, carefully nurturing his foundation families over the years.

In a statement to the PA news agency, Warren said: “His Highness was remarkable, in that he was single-minded in his quest to breed top-class horses.

“Three days before the late Queen died, we sat and watched the video of the 100 years celebration of the Aga Khan Studs.

“Her Majesty remarked how amazing he was, along with his scientific approach to breeding and rearing stock and, of course, Estimate’s success in the Gold Cup gave the Queen one of her most enjoyable day’s racing.

“The Aga’s hugely successful bloodlines are likely to continue to enhance the modern-day thoroughbred for many generations to come. We have been very lucky to have had his contribution to the breed.”

The Aga Khan Studs encompasses properties in both Ireland and France, with his daughter Princess Zahra a successful owner-breeder in her own right and who currently leads the management team.

Her brother, Rahim Al-Hussaini, was named the new Aga Khan on Wednesday evening as he was designated as the Aga Khan V, the 50th hereditary imam of the Ismaili Muslims, in his father’s will.