Holding Court was a bay horse with a white blaze bred in the United Kingdom by Pauline & John Good.
[2] His dam Indian Love Song was a poor racehorse, who failed to win in 33 races,[3][4] but came from a good family, being a granddaughter of The Oaks runner-up Maina.
[5] Apart from Holding Court, Indian Love Song produced Tomba (also by Hernando)[6] who won thirteen races including the Prix de la Forêt.
On 30 September Holding Court started at odds of 12/1 for the Westley Maiden Stakes at Newmarket Racecourse and finished second of the fourteen runners, beaten a head by the favourite Qamous.
On his first appearance of the season, the colt carried top weight of 133 pounds in a ten and a half furlong handicap race on heavy ground at Haydock in April.
[11] On 4 June, Holding Court started at odds of 6.1/1 in a field of fourteen colts for 163rd running of the Prix du Jockey Club over 2400 metres on very soft ground at Chantilly Racecourse.
He drew away from the field in the straight and won by six lengths from Lord Flasheart, with Circus Dance taking third just ahead of Kutub, Broche and Ciro.
He tracked the leaders and reached third place in the straight but made no further progress and eventually finished sixth, more than twelve lengths behind Sinndar.
Two months later Holding Court was sent to Germany and matched against older horses for the first time in the Grosser Preis von Baden.
On his final start of the season, Holding Court was dropped in class for the Group Two Prix du Conseil de Paris at Longchamp in October.
He started the 5.3/1 fourth choice in the betting behind Epitre (Prix Hubert de Chaudenay), Maximum Security and Marienbard.