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66.
World Racing Loses A Major Player
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23/07/2002 |
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World racing has lost one of its major players with the sudden death from a heart attack of Prince Ahmed bin Salman.
Salman’s free-spending Thoroughbred Corporation has been a leading buyer at major US auctions, accounting last year for almost 50 purchases in the US alone for more than $US20 million.
As a breeder he owned outright and held shares in a spectrum of leading stallions and achieved recognition as the owner and breeder of 2001 US Horse of the Year Point Given and all-time leading female stakeswinner Spain.
Salman major stallion interests in Kentucky at the time of his death included shareholdings in Point Given, Anees and Royal Anthem.
He also is reported to have held shares in Skip Away, Lear Fan, Supremo, Gold Fever, Devil His Due and Fantastic Fellow.
The Daily Racing Form has also reported that Salman and the Thoroughbred Corporation owned more than 60 mares and foals including the champions Spain, Sharp Cat and Point Given's dam Turko's Turn.
The mares and foals currently reside at the leading Kentucky studs Mill Ridge, Hopewell, Three Chimneys and Lane's End.
It is expected the mares will offered at the Keeneland November breeding stock sale.
Salman's interest in breeding Thoroughbreds was a natural extension of his racing program and began with the retirement of his Grade 1 winner Sharp Cat to Dr. and Mrs. John Chandler's Mill Ridge Farm in 1998.
Sharp Cat, the first outstanding mare owned by Salman and the catalyst for his extenbsive move ito breeding into 1998, currently has a Fusaichi Pegasus filly foal and is in foal to Point Given.
Turko's Turn produced a Thunder Gulch full sister to Point Given this year and is again in foal to Thunder Gulch.
Recently retired Spain is in foal to Storm Cat.
Point Given was crowned US Horse of the Year last year after winning two legs of the Triple Crown in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes among five G1 wins for the season.
Salman, who died of a heart attack at his home in Saudi Arabia at the age of 43 on July 22, also owned this year’s Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner War Emblem, buying a 90 percent interest in the colt for $US900,000 three weeks before he won the Churchill Downs classic.
He also won the 1999 Epsom Derby with Oath
His other major stakes winners included Jewel Princess, Habibti, Lazy Lode, Officer, Royal Anthem, Saudi Poetry, Sharp Cat, Simple Magic and Windsharp.
Salman first owned horses in the 1980's after graduating from the University of California but his participation increased dramatically in the 1990's with the formation of The Thoroughbred Corporation.
Over the years he employed a number of trainers, including Bob Baffert, Wally Dollase, Neil Drysdale, Alex Hassinger Jr., John Kimmel, D. Wayne Lukas, Richard Mandella, Bill Mott, and John Shirreffs.
Richard Mulhall also trained for Salman before becoming the general manager of The Thoroughbred Corporation.
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