Bois Roussel (1935–1955) was a French-bred

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

champion

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

and a leading broodmare

sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" a ...

. He won the 1938

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey o ...

on his second

racecourse A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...

appearance.

Background

He was named for

Haras du Bois-Roussel Haras may refer to: * Al-Haras or the Haras, a bodyguard unit in service of caliphs during the Umayyad and the Abbasid caliphates * Haras Fyre Haras Fyre (born January 5, 1953), also known professionally as Patrick Grant, is an American singer, ...

, the

breeding Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant. Breeding may refer to: * Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and rab ...

farm in

Alençon Alençon (, , ; nrf, Alençoun) is a commune in Normandy, France, capital of the Orne department. It is situated west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon (with 52,000 people). History The name of Alençon is firs ...

where he was foaled. His breeder was

Leon Volterra Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again f ...

who acquired his sire, Vatout, and his dam as part of his purchase of Haras du Bois Roussel from American,

Jefferson Davis Cohn Jefferson Davis Cohn (1881–1951) was a British American publisher and horse breeder. He was the godson of Jefferson Davis. In 1914, he bought Teddy from Edmond Blanc for 5,400 francs. Cohn also owned Haras du Bois-Roussel, a breeding farm in A ...

. According to ''

Thoroughbred Heritage The National Sporting Library & Museum or NSLM (formerly the National Sporting Library) is a research library and art museum in Middleburg, Virginia in the United States. History The National Sporting Library was founded in 1954 in the personal ...

'', his dam,

Plucky Liege Plucky Liege (1912–1937) was a British Thoroughbred racemare who produced eleven winners, including an Epsom Derby winner at the age of twenty-three and three British Classic race winners. The performances of these horses led to her becoming ...

, was one of the most important broodmares of the 20th century. At the time of foaling Bois Roussel Plucky Liege was 23 years old.

Racing career

Bois Roussel did not start as a two-year-old. Raced at age three by Leon Volterra, he made his racing debut in early 1938 at

Longchamp Racecourse The Longchamp Racecourse (french: Hippodrome de Longchamp) is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes at the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France. It is used for flat racing and is noted for its variety of interlaced tr ...

in Paris, winning the Prix Juigné, an event for unraced

colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...

s and

gelding A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...

s. Shortly thereafter, Volterra sold Bois Roussel for £8,000 to the Hon.

Peter Beatty Peter Randolph Louis Beatty (2 April 1910 – 26 October 1949) was an English racehorse owner and breeder, businessman and member of the aristocracy. Early life and personality Born on 2 April 1910, Beatty was the younger son of David Bea ...

, son of Admiral David Beatty and grandson of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

magnate,

Marshall Field Marshall Field (August 18, 1834January 16, 1906) was an American entrepreneur and the founder of Marshall Field and Company, the Chicago-based department stores. His business was renowned for its then-exceptional level of quality and customer ...

. His new owner sent Bois Roussel to England to run in June's

. Making just the second start of his career, bettors sent the colt off at 20/1 odds. Ridden by

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

Charlie Elliott Charles Standish Elliott MBE (24 April 1912 – 1 January 2004) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Derbyshire between 1932 and 1953, an international umpire and a part-time footballer. Elliott was born in Bolsover, Derbyshire. ...

Bois Roussel scored an upset victory in England's most prestigious race. He was slowly away and among the back markers entering the straight. In the final quarter mile he produced what the ''

Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

'' described as "an astonishing burst of speed" to come from well off the pace and take the lead inside the final furlong. He won going away by four lengths from

Scottish Union Scottish Union (1935–1954) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and Horse breeding#Terminology, stallion best known for winning the British Classic Races, classic St Leger Stakes in 1938. He was one of the highest-rated British two-year-olds in ...

and the favourite Pasch. In winning, he earned more in prize money than Beatty had paid for him. In his only other race start, Bois Roussel ran third to the undefeated

Nearco Nearco (January 24, 1935 – June 27, 1957) was an Italian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse described by ''Thoroughbred Heritage'' as "one of the greatest racehorses of the Twentieth Century" and "one of the most important sires of the century." He ...

in the

Grand Prix de Paris The Grand Prix de Paris is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it ...

Stud record

Bois Roussel was rested as a four-year-old and went to stud in

stud Stud may refer to the following terms: Animals * Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding ** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred Arts and entertainment * Stud (band), a British progressive rock group * The Stud (bar), a gay bar ...

duty in England, in 1940 at a fee of 300 guineas. His stud career was satisfactory without being spectacular. Among his progeny were: * Castagnola (dam of Zucchero who won ten races value £14,837) *

Delville Wood The Battle of Delville Wood was a series of engagements in the 1916 Battle of the Somme in the First World War, between the armies of the German Empire and the British Empire. Delville Wood , was a thick tangle of trees, chiefly beech and ...

(1942) – four wins worth £3,020, five-time

leading sire in Australia The list below shows the leading sire of Thoroughbred racehorses in Australia for each season since 1883–84. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the season. List * 2021/22 – I Am Invincible (1) * 20 ...

* Edie Kelly dam of

St. Paddy St. Paddy (1957–1984) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In 1960, he won both the Epsom Derby and the St Leger. His performances in both 1960 and 1961 were instrumental in making his sire Aureole the Leading sire in Great Br ...

(1957) – won

St. Leger Stakes The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a ...

* Fraise du Bois II (1948) – won Irish Derby * French Beige – won Doncaster Cup * Hikaru Meiji (JPN) Tokyo Yushun (Derby) *

Hindostan ''Hindūstān'' ( , from ''Hindus#Etymology, Hindū'' and -stan, ''-stān''), also sometimes spelt as Hindōstān ( ''Indo-land''), along with its shortened form ''Hind'' (), is the Persian language, Persian-language name for the Indian subcont ...

(1946) – won

Irish Derby The Irish Derby (Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 ...

, seven-time

Leading sire in Japan The list below shows the leading Thoroughbred sire of racehorses in Japan for each year since 1924. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the season. ---- * 1924 - Ebor (1) * 1925 - Ebor (2) * 1926 - ...

Migoli Migoli (May 8, 1944 – July 11, 1963) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse bred and raced by the Aga Khan III. Trained in England by Frank Butters, Migoli's win in the 1948 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe was the first fo ...

(1944) – won £22,950 in England plus 5,209,500 francs in France including the

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France, over a distance ...

, sired

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...

winner

Gallant Man Gallant Man (March 20, 1954 – September 7, 1988) was a thoroughbred racehorse, named for a horse in a Don Ameche movie. He was one of the most successful racehorses foaled outside the United States with his near miss in the 1957 Kentucky D ...

* Fraise du Bois (three wins value £11,226 and second in the St. Leger) *

Ridge Wood Ridge Wood (1946–1956) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the classic St Leger Stakes in 1949. The colt was rejected by his prospective owner as a yearling and failed to win as a two-year-old in 1948. Even after win ...

(1946) – won seven races, £21,658 including the St. Leger Stakes * Star of Iran dam of

Petite Etoile Petite Etoile (foaled 1956) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. In a career which lasted from June 1958 until September 1961 she won fourteen of her nineteen races and finished second in the other five. After showing promising, but unexceptiona ...

(1956) - wins included The Oaks,

1,000 Guineas Stakes The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 ...

, and the

Coronation Cup The Coronation Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards (2, ...

twice * Swallow Tail (six wins value £12,440, third in the Derby and exported to Brazil) *

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

(1941) – won £7,258 including

St. Leger Stakes The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a ...

leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland The title of champion, or leading, sire of racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland is awarded to the stallion whose offspring have won the most prize money in Britain and Ireland during the flat racing season. The current champion is Frankel, who r ...

(1952), sired

Tulyar Tulyar (1949–1972) was an Irish bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He won The Derby, the St Leger Stakes, the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the Ormonde Stakes and the Eclipse Stakes setting a record for a s ...

* Woodburn (1945) – winner of the Yorkshire Cup and

Cesarewitch Handicap The Cesarewitch Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Newmarket over a distance of 2 miles and 2 furlongs (3,621 metres ...

. * Last but not least he is the great grandfather of Red Rum, the three-time winner of the Aintree Grand National. He was not a leading sire but was second on the list of sires of winners in both 1947 and 1949. Bois Roussel's daughters were also outstanding producers who made him the

Leading broodmare sire in Great Britain & Ireland The list below shows the leading sire of broodmares in Great Britain and Ireland for each year since 1899. This is determined by the amount of prize money won during the year in Great Britain and Ireland by racehorses that were foaled by a daughter ...

in 1959 and 1960. Bois Roussel died in October 1955, in France at age 20 because of severe

laminitis Laminitis is a disease that affects the feet of ungulates and is found mostly in horses and cattle. Clinical signs include foot tenderness progressing to inability to walk, increased digital pulses, and increased temperature in the hooves. Sever ...

Pedigree

References

{{Epsom Derby Winners 1935 racehorse births 1955 racehorse deaths British Champion Thoroughbred broodmare sires Racehorses bred in France Racehorses trained in France Thoroughbred family 16-a Chefs-de-Race Epsom Derby winners

Background

Racing career

Stud record

Pedigree

See also

References