He was sired by the Irish-bred stallion Even Top, a descendant of the Byerley Turk, whose most notable racecourse performance came when he was beaten narrowly by Mark of Esteem in the 1996 2000 Guineas.
Ridden by Frank Blondel he was driven out to take the lead in the closing stages and defeated World Heritage by three quarters of a length in the Prix du Prince d'Orange over 2000m at Longchamp.
[9] A month later he won the Prix du Conseil de Paris over 2400m, taking the lead in the straight and pulling clear to win by six lengths.
In October he recorded his first win at Group Two level when he won the Prix Dollar "comfortably" by two lengths from the German gelding Budai.
[13] Cirrus des Aigles was made favourite for a repeat win in the Prix Dollar, but after leading in the straight he was beaten a short neck by the Prince of Wales's Stakes winner Byword, to whom he was conceding four pounds.
In October, Cirrus des Aigles was sent to race in Britain for the first time when he contested the Champion Stakes over ten furlongs at Ascot.
Ridden by Christophe Soumillon, Cirrus des Aigles raced just behind the front-runners before moving forward to challenge for the lead a furlong from the finish.
[15] After the race Soumillon was given a five-day riding ban and lost his £50,000[16] share of the prize money for using his whip six times inside the furlong.
The gelding tracked the leaders before taking the lead in the straight and holding off the late challenge of St Nicholas Abbey by a neck.
[20] In May, Cirrus des Aigles started the 4/5 favourite for the Prix d'Ispahan but was headed in the closing stages and beaten three quarters of a length by the filly Golden Lilac.
Racing on very soft ground, Cirrus des Aigles took the lead approaching the straight and drew away from his seven rivals to win "very easily"[22] by nine lengths.
On his first appearance of the season, he started favourite for the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud but after taking the lead in the straight he faded into fifth place behind the German colt Novellist.
On 27 July, Cirrus des Aigles started 6/4 favourite for the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, but was never able to challenge for the lead and finished fourth behind Novellist, Trading Leather and Hillstar.
He took the lead in the straight but was overtaken entering the final furlong and was beaten one and a half lengths into second place by the Japanese mare Gentildonna.
On his return to Europe, Cirrus des Aigles was matched against the undefeated World Champion and Cartier Horse of the Year Treve in the Prix Ganay at Longchamp on 27 April.
Four weeks later, Cirrus des Aigles started odds-on favourite for the Prix d'Ispahan and won from Anodin and Pollyanna, with the leading British colt Olympic Glory in fourth.
His jockey Christophe Soumillon dismounted immediately after the winning line concerned that his mount may have gone lame, but he was pronounced fine shortly after by his trainer Mme C Barbe.
Three weeks later he started second favourite for the Prix d'Ispahan but finished last of the four runners behind Solow after breaking a shoe in the early stages.
Following a disappointing exercise gallop in early 2016, a veterinary examination revealed "calcification on a sesamoid ligament", meaning that Cirrus des Aigles would be at risk of serious injury if he raced again.