{{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Finasseur , image = , caption = , sire = Winkfield's Pride , grandsire = Winkfield , dam = Finaude , damsire = Clamart , sex = Stallion , foaled = 1902 , country =

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, colour = Chestnut , breeder = Edmond Blanc , owner = Michel Ephrussi , trainer = James d'Okhuysen , record = 17: 7-5-2 £25,586 , earnings = £25,586 (equivalent) , race =

Prix des Chênes The Prix des Chênes is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and geldings. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is sched ...

(1904)

Prix du Jockey Club The Prix du Jockey Club, sometimes referred to as the French Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Chantilly over ...

(1905)

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 i ...

(1905)
Prix du President de la Republique (1905)
Grand Prix de Bruxelles (1905) , awards= , honours = Prix Finasseur at

Saint-Cloud Racecourse 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 Hospita ...

, updated= Finasseur (1902–1909) 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 ...

racehorse who, at age three, won the two most prestigious races in France.

Background

Finasseur was bred by Edmond Blanc at his Haras de Jardy

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 ba ...

farm at

Marnes-la-Coquette Marnes-la-Coquette () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. Located from the centre of Paris, the town is situated in the Hauts-de-Seine department on the departmental border with Yvelines between the Parc de Saint-Cloud and th ...

about sixteen kilometers west of central

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and purchased for racing by Michel Ephrussi, a wealthy businessman connected to the

Rothschild banking family of France The Rothschild banking family of France (french: Famille banquière Rothschild) is a French banking dynasty founded in 1812 in Paris (at the time in the First French Empire) by James Mayer de Rothschild (1792–1868). James was sent there from ...

. Ephrussi entrusted the colt's race conditioning to trainer James d'Okhuysen.

Racing career

Sent to race at age two, Finasseur notably won the 1904

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 ...

in Paris. As a three-year-old, Finasseur was the dominant horse in French racing, winning the Prix du President de la Republique at Maisons-Laffitte Racecourse, the then 1½ mile

French Derby The Prix du Jockey Club, sometimes referred to as the French Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Chantilly over ...

Chantilly Racecourse Chantilly Racecourse (In French: "Hippodrome de Chantilly") is a Thoroughbred turf racecourse for flat racing in Chantilly, Oise, France, about north of the centre of the city of Paris. Chantilly Racecourse is located in the country's main ...

. He was ridden to victory by future United States Racing Hall of Fame inductee

Nash Turner Nash Turner (1881–1937) was an American Hall of Fame jockey who competed in Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States and France. A native of Texas, Nash Turner began his professional riding career in 1895 and by 1900 was one of the top te ...

. An American, Turner came to France for fellow American owner/trainer H. Eugene Leigh and chose to make his permanent home there. Finasseur then won what was the most prestigious race in France at the time, the

. His other major win came in the Grand Prix de Bruxelles at the Hippodrome de Boitsfort in the Boitsfort suburb of

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Stud career

Retired to stud duty at his owner's Haras du Gazon in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, Finasseur had only been bred to a few mares when he injured himself in his stall and broke a leg bone. The injury forced his owner to

euthanize Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eutha ...

the valuable horse. Of note, a Finasseur filly named Stanzia was purchased in utero by Haras San Ignacio in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. Her colt, Solpido, was a successful runner who broke several Argentinian time records.

References

Finasseur's pedigree and partial racing stats

* ttps://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A0CE0D81431E733A25751C1A9609C946497D6CF June 12, 1905 ''New York Times'' article on Finasseur winning the Grand Prix de Paris 1902 racehorse births 1909 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in France Racehorses trained in France French Thoroughbred Classic Race winners Thoroughbred family 5-i