Exbury (1959–1979) was a French

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 ...

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 ...

named for the famous Exbury Gardens Estate in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

belonging to owner Guy de Rothschild's cousin, Edmund de Rothschild.

Background

Bred at the Rothschild's

Haras de Meautry Haras de Meautry in Touques, Calvados, Normandy, France, is a thoroughbred horse breeding farm. It was acquired in the 19th century by horse-racing enthusiast Alphonse James de Rothschild (1827–1905) who passed it down to his offspring so that ...

Touques, Calvados Touques () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. It is situated on the river Touques, 3 km southeast of the sea resort Deauville. History * Eliezer (ben Solomon) of Touques was a French tos ...

, through his sire's line Exbury is a descendant of Haras de Meautry's great champion Brantôme and on his mare's side, the extremely important

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

sire,

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 ...

. Trained at

Chantilly Chantilly may refer to: Places France *Chantilly, Oise, a city located in the Oise department **US Chantilly, a football club *Château de Chantilly, a historic château located in the town of Chantilly United States * Chantilly, Missou ...

by the Englishman,

Geoffroy Watson Geoffrey, Geoffroy, Geoff, etc., may refer to: People * Geoffrey (name), including a list of people with the name * Geoffroy (surname), including a list of people with the name * Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1095–c. 1155), clergyman and one of the ...

, a son of trainer John Watson who for forty years was the private trainer for the successful racing stable of

Leopold de Rothschild Leopold de Rothschild (22 November 1845 – 29 May 1917) was a British banker, thoroughbred race horse breeder, and a member of the prominent Rothschild family. Biography Early life Leopold de Rothschild was the third son and youngest of t ...

Racing career

At age two, Exbury started four times, winning once and finishing second three times. As a three-year-old, in a year where

Val de Loir Val de Loir (May 7, 1959 – October 30, 1974) was a French Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorse who won important races in France including the Prix du Jockey Club, French Derby and was a Champion sire. Val de Loir stood at Haras de Sassy in Sain ...

and

Match II Match (also known as Match II and Match III)Turf Newspapers Ltd, "Addendum to Register of Thoroughbred Stallions, Vol. XXV, 1963", London (1958–1965) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse who won major races in England, France and the United Stat ...

were prominent, Exbury began to show some of his ability, winning two

conditions races Conditions races are horse races in which the weights carried by the runners are laid down by the conditions attached to the race. Weights are allocated according to the sex of the runners, with female runners carrying less weight than males; the ...

and finishing second to Match II in the important

Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud The Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Saint-Cloud over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is sc ...

. At age four Exbury came into his own, winning all five of his 1963 starts, beating many of the best in France and in England. The

National Horseracing Museum Palace House is the home of the National Horse Racing Museum in the remaining part of Charles II's racing palace in Newmarket, Suffolk, England. It is home to the National Horse Racing Museum, the British Sporting Art Trust and Retraining of Rac ...

called Exbury "the best middle distance horse in Europe in 1963." That year, Exbury won the Prix Boïard, then beat

by four lengths in winning the

Prix Ganay The Prix Ganay is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 2,100 metres (about 1 mile and 2½ furlongs) at Longc ...

. In England he won 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, ...

by six lengths then back in France beat Val de Loir again in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and capped off the year with a victory in France's most prestigious horse race, 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 ...

. Including Exbury, horses owned by Guy de Rothschild won the Prix Boiard at

Hippodrome de Saint-Cloud Hippodrome de Saint-Cloud is a grass race course for Thoroughbred flat horse racing opened in 1901 at 1 rue du Camp Canadien in Saint-Cloud near Paris, France. During World War 1, the race course site housed the No. 4 Canadian Stationary Hospital ...

six times. In 1969,

France Galop France Galop is the governing body of flat and steeplechase horse racing in France. It was founded on May 3, 1995, as the result of the amalgamation of four different industry organizations. Prominent owner/breeder Jean-Luc Lagardère was elected ...

renamed the race in Exbury's honor.

Stud record

Exbury was retired to Haras de Meautry

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 ...

in Calvados, France at the end of the 1963 campaign.Biggar, Allan (ed.), The Stallion Review 1977 He enjoyed reasonable success as a

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 ...

, producing several stakes/conditions race winners. Most prominent among them was

Crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifical ...

whose victories include the

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 ...

(both G1) and the

Prix Eugène Adam The Prix Eugène Adam is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Maisons-Laffitte over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1 miles), and it is scheduled to take ...

. His German-bred son Ataxerxes won the Preis von Europa (G1). Another Exbury son, Madison Palace, won conditions/stakes races in France and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and the Exbury

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

Example won conditions races in France and England. His son, Zamazaan, was exported to New Zealand where he sired 58 stakeswinners for 123 stakeswins.ASB - Zamazaan (FR)
Retrieved on 2009-6-9 Another son, Calshot Light (GB) was exported to Australia where sired 23 live foals, but no stakeswinners.

References

The United Kingdom's National Horseracing Museum reference to Exbury

(French language) {{Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Winners 1959 racehorse births 1979 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Calvados (department) Racehorses trained in France Arc winners * Thoroughbred family 2-f