Bernard Henry Richard Harcourt van Cutsem (23 January 1916 – 8 December 1975) was an English horsebreeder and racehorse trainer.

Ancestry and early life

The van Cutsem family are Roman Catholics, and of Dutch origin.
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'', September 03, 2013 The family was said to descend from a illegitimate son of

Henry II, Duke of Brabant Henry II of Brabant ( nl, Hendrik, french: Henri; 1207 – February 1, 1248) was Duke of Brabant and Lothier after the death of his father Henry I in 1235. His mother was Matilda of Boulogne. Henry II supported his sister Mathilde's son, ...

, who was given a knighthood and an estate, called Cuetssem Velde, near Sint-Pieters-Leeuw. By the 13th century, the family possessed considerable land, and, by 1514, a property known as t'Hof van Cuetssem.Burke's Landed Gentry, 18th ed., vol. III, ed. Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd, 1972, 'Van Cutsem' pedigree Members of the family migrated to England in the 19th century. Bernard Henry Richard Harcourt van Cutsem was born on 23 January 1916. His father was Henry Harcourt van Cutsem (1877–1917) and his mother, Eleanor Mary Josephine Southwell Trafford. Van Cutsem attended

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

and served as a second lieutenant in the Life Guards during the Second World War.

Career

Van Cutsem bred horses at Northmore Farm in

Exning Exning is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. It lies just off the A14 trunk road, roughly east-northeast of Cambridge, and south-southeast of Ely. The nearest large town is Newmarket. T ...

, near Newmarket, Suffolk, widely known as the birthplace and global centre of thoroughbred horse racing. He became a millionaire, thanks to his training and breeding of champion horses. For example, he trained

High Top The high-top is a shoe that extends slightly over the wearer's ankle. It is commonly an athletic shoe, particularly for basketball. It is sometimes confused with the slightly shorter mid-top, which typically extends no higher than the wearer's a ...

(1969–1988), Park Top and

Sharpen Up Sharpening is the process of creating or refining the edge joining two non-coplanar faces into a converging apex, thereby creating an edge of appropriate shape on a tool or implement designed for cutting. Sharpening is done by removing material ...

(1969–1992). Moreover, he trained the winner of the Washington, D.C. International Stakes, the

City and Suburban Handicap The City and Suburban Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile 2 furlongs and 17 yards (2,027 metres) at Epsom in April duri ...

and the

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot o ...

in 1969. Additionally, he trained the winners of the Blue Riband Trial in 1970, 1971 and 1972. He also trained the winner of the

Dewhurst Stakes The Dewhurst Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres ...

and the Seaton Delaval Stakes in 1971, the winners of the Observer Gold Cup in 1971 and 1972, and the winner of the 2,000 Guineas Stakes in 1972. The Superlative Stakes was previously known as the ''Bernard van Cutsem Stakes'' in his honor.

Personal life

Bernard van Cutsem married Mary Compton (1919-1989), daughter of Major Edward Robert Francis Compton (1891–1977) and Sylvia Farquharson of Invercauld (1899–1950), on 28 September 1939. They had two sons: *

Hugh van Cutsem Hugh Bernard Edward van Cutsem (21 July 1941 – 2 September 2013) was an English banker, businessman, landowner and horse-breeder. Early life Hugh Bernard Edward van Cutsem was born on 21 July 1941.Gordon Cramb ''Financial Times'', 6 Septembe ...

(1941–2013); close friend of

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person t ...

. *Geoffrey Neil van Cutsem (born 1944); married Sally McCorquodale, daughter of Scottish athlete

Alastair McCorquodale Alastair McCorquodale (5 December 1925 – 27 February 2009) was a British athlete and cricketer. McCorquodale was educated at Harrow where he opened the bowling for the 1st XI in the 1948 Eton v Harrow match at Lord's. He represented Br ...

and sister of Neil McCorquodale, the husband of Lady Sarah Spencer (the elder sister of Diana, Princess of Wales). They divorced, and in 1948, he married Lady Margaret Fortescue (1923–2013), daughter of

Hugh Fortescue, 5th Earl Fortescue Hugh William Fortescue, 5th Earl Fortescue, (14 June 1888 – 14 June 1958), styled Viscount Ebrington from 1905 until 1932, of Castle Hill in the parish of Filleigh, of Weare Giffard Hall, both in Devon and of Ebrington Manor in Gloucest ...

(1888–1958) and Hon. Margaret Helen Beaumont (1892–1948). They had two daughters: *Eleanor van Cutsem (born 1949). married Arthur Gore, 9th Earl of Arran. *Rosamund Isabelle van Cutsem (born 1952). In 1966, she left van Cutsem, resumed her maiden name, and they divorced in 1968. Bernard Van Cutsem died on 8 December 1975 at

Westminster Hospital Westminster Hospital was a hospital in London, England, founded in 1719. In 1834 a medical school attached to the hospital was formally founded. In 1939 a newly built hospital and medical school opened in Horseferry Road, Westminster. In 1994 the ...

. He was 59 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:van Cutsem, Bernard 1916 births 1975 deaths People from Newmarket, Suffolk Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge English racehorse owners and breeders English Roman Catholics British racehorse trainers English people of Flemish descent

Bernard Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "bra ...