Beware Of Women And Horses

A worn but exceedingly sound bit of advice usually passed on to young men is to be chary of women and horses. Elders sometimes differ as to which of the critters is more unpredictable, but they are united in warning that to woo both at the same time is as dangerous as climbing a fence with a loaded gun and as financially unsound as drawing to an inside straight. Men frequently ignore such advice, of course, but few have done it so spectacularly as His Highness The Prince Aly Khan, an almost frenetically active man of 47, who at present, to the surprise of many people, is Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations from Pakistan .

From the age of puberty until almost certainly this very night, Aly Khan 's two most ardent interests have been women and horses, though not necessarily always in that order. The results, at least to his way of reckoning, have not been unhappy at all. "All my life," he remarked recently, "I have been a very lucky man."

As far as horses are concerned, this is exceptionally true. As a gentleman jockey Aly has established one of the most impressive amateur racing records of all time by booting home more than 100 winners in races all over the world. He is a four-time winner of the Prix des Lions, one of the oldest races in France for amateur riders. He has won the famed Bar Steeplechase near Aylesbury three times. Three times he has won the French Amateur Derby, and until he was well into his 40s he was a winner in races at Le Tremblay and Chantilly. Just two years ago, though he was 45 and sadly out of condition, he became a four-time winner of the big amateur night race at Longchamp.

As an owner, breeder and trader of fine horses Aly has been no less successful than as a rider. From his early 20s onward he has displayed an almost Midaslike touch. His father, the late Aga Khan , used to sigh, "Ah, if Aly would only choose his women as well as he does his horses."

In 1946, the Aga proved how much .he thought of Aly as a judge of horseflesh by making him a full partner and placing him in charge of his stud farms and racing interests in Ireland and France , which comprised some 3,000 valuable acres, with bloodstock worth upward of $8 million. When the 79-year-old Aga died in the summer of 1957, he demonstrated how little he had thought of Aly's much-publicized playboy life by naming Aly's 20-year-old son, Karim, as the new Aga Khan and hereditary spiritual leader of an estimated 20 million Ismaili Moslems scattered throughout the world. At the same time, the shrewd old Aga specified at length and in detail that Aly should remain in complete control of the family's racing interests. Horses have given Aly his one unqualified and well-deserved success in life. And, although he certainly would not starve without the money, they have, in the familiar phrase, brought him fortune.

Women—a somewhat unbelievable array of women, notably dazzling actresses—have brought Aly fame. It may be fame of dubious value, as staider citizens claim, but by present-day standards it usually passes for the gilt-edge article. Whether they care or not, most people who read newspapers have been made aware of Aly's big romances.

Currently the No. 1 equestrienne on his romantic merry-go-round is Bettina, a pert and lively Parisian model, who is often described as "the most photographed woman in Europe ." But an attractive woman, especially a dazzling actress or model, has always had a pronounced, and sometimes startling, effect on Aly. A young society matron who sat across from him at a dinner recently has been holding friends entranced with an account of her experience. "Suddenly, he began staring at me," she said, "very intently, not moving his eyes. Then his nostrils began to flare; I swear they did, just like Rudolph Valentino's in the silent movies. I was at a complete loss. What do you do when a man flares his nostrils at you across the table? Flare your nostrils back and treat it as a joke? Or do you just sit there and feel uncomfortable? I'm afraid that's what I did. All through dinner, every time I raised my eyes, he was staring at me and flaring his nostrils. I'm afraid I don't care for him much."

Whether he flared his nostrils at them or not is not known, but a host of beautiful women have cared very much—and very publicly—for Aly. The first major flurry of headlines came when he married his first wife, Joan Yarde-Buller Guinness, the daughter of an English lord, after she was divorced by Member of Parliament Thomas Loel Guinness, who cited Aly as corespondent. Still later, with word and picture, readers were kept abreast of his around-the-world romance with Actress Rita Hayworth. The journey finally culminated in the biggest, gaudiest wedding ever held on the Riviera or, for that matter, anywhere else. Festivities reached a peak at a reception held after the ceremony at Aly's low, green-shuttered chateau perched near the Mediterranean. While 100 guards held newsmen and photographers at bay on land and a patrol boat did the same thing to a veritable press navy trying to slip in from the sea, guests happily made their way through 600 bottles of champagne, 50 pounds of caviar and various other luxury goodies. Music was furnished by a squad of violinists and a white-suited jazz band. After Rita had cut the wedding cake, the band struck a chord and a corps of servants marched to the swimming pool and threw in two massive floral pieces. The first was shaped like an M (for Margarita, Rita's full name) and the other like an A, for the groom.

The old Aga Khan took care to record in his memoirs what he thought of the event: "This was a fantastic semiroyal, semi- Hollywood affair; my wife and I played our part in the ceremony, much as we disapproved of the atmosphere with which it was surrounded."

Even a partial listing of actresses who, correctly or incorrectly, have been romantically linked with Aly by newspapers and columnists would make a sizable international casting directory. After his divorce from Rita he achieved black and breathless headlines with another worldwide romance, this time with Gene Tierney. For a while he saw a great deal of Merle Oberon. Italian papers noted he was dancing with Actress Lia Amanda. Hollywood 's Joan Fontaine appeared regularly at his parties. There were recorded encounters with Actresses Kim Novak and Yvonne de Carlo. The press in Greece noted he was dancing with Actress Irene Papas. In Paris he saw a great deal of Actresses Dani�le Delorme and Lise Bourdin.