After his retirement from racing Firdaussi stood as a breeding stallion in Britain, France and Ireland, but had limited success as a sire of winners.
Firdaussi's dam Brownhylda won the Epsom Oaks in 1923 and was bought by the Aga Khan at the end of her racing career.
[6][7] Following a rift between the Aga Khan and Dick Dawson, Firdaussi was moved to Frank Butters' Fitzroy House stable in Newmarket, Suffolk[2] In the Free Handicap, a ranking of the best juveniles in Britain, he was assigned a weight of 126 pounds, making him the fourth-best colt of his generation behind Orwell, Mannamead and the Coventry Stakes winner Cockpen.
[2] On his three-year-old debut contested the Greenham Stakes (a trial race for the 2000 Guineas) at Newbury and finished third to Orwell, the leading two-year-old of 1931.
[7] He returned in the one and a half mile Lingfield Derby Trial in which he was reportedly some way short of full health but finished second to April the Fifth.
[9] In the Epsom Derby on 1 June he was ridden by Steve Donoghue as his usual jockey, Michael Beary, opted to ride the stable's other runner Dastur.
After being among the leaders for most of the way Firdaussi took the lead in the straight but was outpaced in the final furlong and came home fifth of the twenty-one runners behind April the Fifth, Dastur, Miracle and Royal Dancer.
He was one of four contenders owned by the Aga Khan, the others being Dastur (again the choice of Michael Beary), Udaipur and Taj Kasra while the other fifteen runners included April the Fifth and Orwell.
[15] Firdaussi ended his season on 29 September in the £4,981 Jockey Club Stakes over fourteen furlongs at Newmarket in which he was ridden by Beary and started the 4/1[12] third favourite behind the four-year-olds Sandwich and Cameronian.
[17] Gainslaw's jockey lodged an objection on the grounds of "squeezing" (causing interference without making contact) but the racecourse stewards allowed the result to stand.
[22] In early July at Newmarket, the colt failed to recover from a poor start and finished fourth in the Princess of Wales's Stakes.