two disappointing efforts. In the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot, he took the lead in the straight, but faded into fourth behind Azamour. A month later he made little impact in the Sussex Stakes, again fading in the closing stages to finish ninth of the eleven runners behind Soviet Song. His final start saw him return to his best form. Sent off a relatively unconsidered 12-1 shot in the Champion Stakes he moved up to take the lead a furlong out and won by two and a half lengths from the filly Chorist, with Azamour back in third and good horses such as Refuse to Bend, Norse Dancer, Doyen and Lucky Story amongst the also-rans. Barry Hills was visibly moved by the performance and called Haafhd "the best miler I have trained". Four days after the Champion Stakes win, it was announced that Haafhd would be retired to stand at his owner's stud. The decision was announced by Hamdan Al Maktoum's racing manager Angus Gold who explained that although the owner would have liked to have kept the colt in training, he had "decided he was a very important cog in his breeding operation.". Race record . Assessment In the 2004 World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings, Haafhd was rated at 124, making him the seventh best horse in the world, and the best horse in the world on turf in the Mile and Intermediate categories. He was given a rating of 129 by Timeform in the same year. Stud career Since being retired to his owner's Nunnery Stud, Haafhd has sired the winners of over 170 races. His best offspring is probably Silver Grecian, winner of the Superlative Stakes. Pedigree References 2001 racehorse births Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 9-e 2000 Guineas winners