Three-times Champion Hurdle, Persian war was a British National Hunt Horse who is considered one of the best hurdlers of his era.
Once heralded as “the ultimate champion” by one of his trainer, the renowned Colin Davis, Persian War dominated British hurdles in the late 1960s and swept to victory in the Triumph Hurdle, Welsh Champion Hurdle and Irish Sweeps Hurdle. During his career, out of 51 starts over hurdles, Persian War won 18 and was second in 9.
The grandsire of Triple Crown winner Bahram, Persian War was bred at the Astor Stud. His dam, Warning, was the daughter of Champion sire and Coronation Cup winner, Chanteur. Despite his pedigree, Persian War didn’t immediately appear to be anything special and after racing in two flat races, was sold as a three-year-old.
It was under this new ownership that Persian War made his hurdling debut at Ascot in October 1966, finishing an impressive second. In his next race, the Toll House Juvenile Hurdle, he had showed considerable improvement and won by fifteen lengths. He followed that with wins at Newbury, before being sold again.
It quickly became obvious that Persian War was one of the best ever hurdlers in British racing history. He continued began to dominate the hurdling season and winning the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham, three years in a row.
A string of injuries saw his form decline during the early 1970s and Persian War eventually retired in 1974 after injuring his leg during training. He spent the rest of his days at Genesis Green Stud.