Hafiz (horse)

Hafiz was not highly tried as a two-year-old. He finished second in the Prix de Saint-Firmin over 1000 metres at Longchamp Racecourse and then won a minor race at Maisons-Laffitte.[2] At the end of the season a half share in the colt was sold to the American breeder Larry MacPhail.[5]

In the spring of 1955, Hafiz established himself as one of the leading French colts with wins in two important trial races at Longchamp: the Prix Greffulhe over 2000 metres[6] and the Prix de Guiche over 1950 metres.[7] In June he was sent to Britain to contest the Derby over one and a half miles at Epsom but despite being considered a serious contender[8] he finished unplaced behind another French challenger Phil Drake.

Hafiz returned to Britain in autumn and recorded his two most important victories. In September he appeared at Ascot where he produced a "great finishing sprint"[9] to win the inaugural running[10] of the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes over one mile. In the following month he started at odds of 100/30[11] for the Champion Stakes over one and a quarter miles at Newmarket Racecourse. Ridden by Roger Poincelet he won from the 1954 2000 Guineas winner Darius and the Irish Derby winner Panaslipper.

Before the start of the new season, MacPhail bought out the remaining half-share in the colt for £70,000.[12] Hafiz did not win any major events in 1956 (his only success was in the Prix d'Automne) but he enhanced his reputation in two of his defeats. After running poorly in the Prix Ganay he finished second in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot, beaten 1+1⁄2 lengths when attempting to concede six pounds to the leading British four-year-old Hugh Lupus.[2] Following unplaced runs in the Eclipse Stakes (for which he started favourite) and the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes his connections took the unusual decision to end the season with a run in the Cambridgeshire Handicap over nine furlongs at Newmarket. Although the race had been won by many champions in the past, by the 1950s it had become common practice for top-class European horses to compete almost exclusively in weight-for-age events. Carrying top weight of 133 pounds, Hafiz was ridden by the Australian jockey Rae Johnstone and started at odds of 10/1. In what Alec Head described as a "wonderful performance"[13] Hafiz finished second by half a length to a four-year-old gelding named Loppylugs, to whom he was conceding 27 pounds.