Al Nasr was a strongly-built, good-looking,[2] horse standing 16 hands high with no white markings[3] bred in France by Michel Henochsberg and Rene Romanet.
Al Nasr made his only appearance of 1980 in a nineteen runner maiden race over 1600 metres at Saint-Cloud Racecourse in October.
Al Nasr returned to France in July and finished second by a neck to Bellman in the Prix Eugène Adam, with the British-trained colts Church Parade and Kirtling in third and fourth.
In August, Al Nasr was ridden by Yves Saint-Martin when he contested the Group Two Prix de La Cote Normande over 2000m at Deauville Racecourse and won easily by two and a half lengths from Brustolon.
He was then moved up in class for the Group Two Prix d'Harcourt at Longchamp and was beaten a neck by the five-year-old Lancastrian after losing a shoe during the race.
The two four-year-olds started at odds of 7/2 and 9/4 respectively while the three-year-old Melyno, winner of the Poule d'Essai des Poulains and the Prix Jean Prat was made the 6/10 favourite.
Ridden by Alain Lequeux, Al Nasr tracked the pacemaker Mourtazam, but lost ground when the other main contenders quickened early in the straight.
In the last 200m, Al Nasr rallied strongly along the inside rail, took the lead in the closing stages, and won by three-quarters of a length and a neck from The Wonder and Melyno.
Al Nasr was then trained for the major turf races in North America, beginning with the second running of the Arlington Million in Chicago.