Darara, Group 1 winner and producer, dies

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s foundation mare Darara, dam of four Group 1 winners, died earlier this month at age 29, the Racing Post reported.

Darara had resided at the couple’s Watership Down Stud in England. Bred by the Aga Khan, the Top Ville mare was a Group 1 winner herself, having taken the Prix Vermeille for the Aga Khan in 1986. Her siblings included Group 1-winning half-brother Darshaan, who became a leading sire and broodmare sire.

The Webbers bought Darara in 1994. The Group 1 winners she produced included English champion and 2009 Breeders Cup Turf third-finisher Dar Re Mi, by Singspiel; Darazari, an Australian Group 1 winner by Sadler’s Wells; Diaghilev, also by Sadler’s Wells and a Hong Kong champion; and Rewilding, a Tiger Hill colt who also was a United Arab Emirates champion.

Darara’s other notable foals were Group 2-placed Kilimanjaro, by Shirley Heights; Group 3 winner and Group 1-placed Rhagaas, by Sadler’s Wells; and Spanish champion Dariyoun, by Shahrastani.

The Webbers still retain two of Darara’s daughters, Dar Re Mi and Evita, a Selkirk maiden.