Ascot: Farhh caps career with win in Champion Stakes

Farhh, making his first start since May, ended his career with a hard-fought neck win in Saturday’s $2,093,000 Champion Stakes at Ascot.

Ridden by Silvestre de Sousa, Farhh (11-4) led for the final furlong of the 1 1/4-mile race over soft turf and held off a late run from 6-4 favorite Cirrus des Aigles, the winner of the 2011 Champion Stakes. Ruler of The World, the winner of the English Derby in June, finished third in a strong field of 10.

Farhh was always near the lead, tracking Hunter’s Light, who was 10th in the Arlington Million in August.

The Group 1 Champion Stakes was Farhh’s second win at the highest level. Owned by Godolphin Racing and trained by Saeed Bin Suroor, Farhh won the Group 1 Lockinge Stakes at Newbury, England, in May. He underwent surgery following that race to have a bone chip removed from an ankle, according to Simon Crisford, Godolphin’s racing manager.

“This horse is a great fighter,” Bin Suroor said. “He had a break after winning the Lockinge Stakes. He has been a miler in the past, but a mile and a quarter was great for him [Saturday] on that ground. Every year, he has had problems. Luckily, he has won a pair of Group 1’s in his last two races. He’s been a very tough horse since he was a 2-year-old, but we have had to look after him with a different program to keep him sound.”

In 2012, Farhh was second in four consecutive Group 1 races in England and France. A 5-year-old horse, Farhh is by Pivotal and won 5 of 10 starts in his career. He will stand at stud in 2014 at Dalham Hall Stud in Newmarket, England.