Sendawar (foaled 15 April 1996) was an Irish-bred, French-trained

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic ...

, who is an active

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

Stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

. He was ridden by

Gérald Mossé Gérald Mossé (born 3 January 1967 in France) is a jockey in thoroughbred horse racing. He began riding professionally in April 1983 and his success during his apprenticeship under Patrick-Louis Biancone led to an offer to ride for renowned trai ...

in all his starts.

Background

Sendawar, a dark bay or brown horse, was bred at the Aga Khan Studs in Ireland. He was sired by Priolo who himself won three Group 1 races in France and sired only one other Group 1 winner, namely Mirio. His dam was Sendana, a

Darshaan Darshaan (18 April 1981 – 21 May 2001) was a British-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and a Champion sire and broodmare sire. Background Darshaan was a brown horse bred by his owner Aga Khan IV. He was sired by the British stall ...

mare, who produced only one other notable progeny, namely Sendoro, who was placed in three Group races.

Racing career

1998: two-year-old season

Sendawar raced twice at two – firstly over 1,800m in the Prix de Sablonville when he came half a length second to Royal Line, and secondly in the Prix Adaris over 1,600m when again he came second by one length.

1999: three-year-old season

Sendawar lined up in the Prix de Ferrier over 2,200m and went off 7/5 favourite and won "at a canter" by one and half lengths. He then stepped up to Group company in the Prix Greffulhe over 2,100m at Longchamp where he came 4 lengths second to

Montjeu Montjeu (4 April 1996 – 29 March 2012) was an Irish-bred, French-trained thoroughbred horse racing racehorse and sire. In a racing career which lasted from September 1998 to November 2000, he ran sixteen times and won eleven races, including ...

, who as a 3 year old won the

Prix du Jockey Club The Prix du Jockey Club, sometimes referred to as the French Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Chantilly ov ...

Irish Derby The Irish Derby ( Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distanc ...

, and

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racec ...

, amongst others. On 6 May 1999, Sendawar dropped back in trip to contest the

Poule d'Essai des Poulains Molof (Ampas, Poule, Powle-Ma) is a poorly documented Papuan language spoken by about 200 people in Molof village, Senggi District, Keerom Regency. Classification Wurm (1975) placed it as an independent branch of Trans–New Guinea, but Ros ...

at Longchamp over 1,600m. The joint favourites in the race were the unbeaten

Dansili Dansili (27 January 1996 – 22 December 2021) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He won five races, including the Prix du Muguet. After retiring from racing he became a successful stallion, with his progeny including Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe ...

and Way of Light, who had won the

Grand Critérium Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commun ...

. Sendawar won by one and a half lengths from Dansili with Way of Light in 4th. Next he went onto

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races a ...

to run in the

St James's Palace Stakes The St James's Palace Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 7 furlongs and 213 yards (1,603 metres). It is sche ...

. He went off as the 2/1 favourite and faced 10 rivals, including Godolphin's

Aljabr Aljabr (3 February 1996 – 6 February 2018) was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire who was trained in England and Dubai during a racing career which lasted from 1998 to 2000. He was named European Champion Two-Year-Old Colt ...

, the only other Group 1 winner in the field, who having been sent to America to run in the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-yea ...

was withdrawn due to injury. Sendawar won by one and a quarter lengths from Ajabar with the other rivals trailing another five lengths behind. It was the aim for Sendawar to face

Dubai Millennium Dubai Millennium (2 March 1996 – 29 April 2001) was a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. The colt was trained in the United Kingdom and Dubai during his racing career from 1998 and 2000. He is notable for winning a series of major ...

in the

Prix Jacques Le Marois The Prix Jacques Le Marois is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred colts and fillies aged three years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mil ...

in the summer, but he was withdrawn due to very soft ground. On 5 September, he was back at Longchamp as the 4/5 favourite for the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp over 1,600m. He faced his old rivals Dansili, Aljabr, and Way of Light. He won by one and a half lengths from Gold Away with Dansili a further head back in third.

2000: four-year-old season

Sendawar started his four-year-old campaign in the

Prix d'Ispahan The Prix d'Ispahan is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,850 metres (about 1 mile and 1¼ furlongs), and i ...

over 1,850m at Longchamp coming up against the

Prix d'Harcourt The Prix d'Harcourt is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles) at Longchamp in Apr ...

and

Prix Ganay The Prix Ganay is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 2,100 metres (about 1 mile and 2½ furlongs) at Long ...

winner Indian Danehill. Sendawar won by 3 lengths in "impressive" fashion from Indian Danehill. Following the Prix d'Ispahan win, he was targeted for the

Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of 1 mile, 1 furl ...

at Sandown; however, he was supplemented for the

Prince of Wales Stakes The Prince of Wales Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Fort Erie Race Track in Fort Erie, Ontario. Restricted to only three-year-old horses bred in Canada, it is contested on dirt over a distance of miles (1.9 km; ...

at a cost of £20,000. In the Prince of Wales Stakes, he faced the

Dubai World Cup The Dubai World Cup (Arabic: كأس دبي العالمي) is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 and contested at the Meydan Racecourse (Arabic: ميدان) which in Arabic suggests a place wher ...

and

Queen Elizabeth II Stakes The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is ...

winner,

, who won, leaving Sendawar trailing eleven lengths back in fourth place. On 13 August, in his last race, Sendawar was sent off as the 7/10 favourite for the

over 1,600m at Deuville and came three lengths second to the Godolphin-trained five-year-old Muhtathir. It was the intention for Sendawar to run again in the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp, but he was withdrawn from the race, having been retired by his connections.

Career at Stud

At stud Sendawar had limited success, he only had one notable progeny, namely Viva Macau, who earned £441,502 in prize money and who was placed in the

Prix Jean Prat The Prix Jean Prat is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,400 metres (about 7 furlongs), and it is sch ...

, the

Hong Kong Classic Mile The Hong Kong Classic Mile is a domestic Group 1 four year old set weights Thoroughbred horse race in Hong Kong, run over a distance of 1600 metres. It was originally a Group 3 race and was the traditional lead-up race for the Hong Kong Derby. In t ...

. Sendawar was then sold to Annshoon Stud in Ireland to become a

stallion.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 1996 racehorse births Thoroughbred family 6-d Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in France