Haras du Quesnay, known as "Le Quesnay", is a

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 ...

horse breeding Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in ...

farm in France about four miles (6 km) outside the city of

Deauville Deauville () is a commune in the Calvados department, Normandy, northwestern France. Major attractions include its harbour, race course, marinas, conference centre, villas, Grand Casino, and sumptuous hotels. The first Deauville Asian Film Fes ...

on 3 km².

Early years

The stud was established in 1907 by wealthy American sportsman

William Kissam Vanderbilt William Kissam "Willie" Vanderbilt I (December 12, 1849 – July 22, 1920) was an American heir, businessman, philanthropist and horsebreeder. Born into the Vanderbilt family, he managed his family's railroad investments. Early life William Kiss ...

. He sold the property to another American horseman,

A. Kingsley Macomber Abraham Kingsley "King" Macomber (March 7, 1874 – October 6, 1955) was an American adventurer, businessman, philanthropist, Thoroughbred-racehorse owner and breeder. He was born in Morristown, New Jersey, the second of the three sons of Henry ...

, whose colt

War Cloud War Cloud (1915–1923) was a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who was the first horse to compete in all three U.S.Triple Crown races. Background Bred by Jack Barnato Joel, one of Britain's most prominent Thoroughbred owner/breeders, W ...

won the 1918

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs () on ...

. Macomber had other wins, including the 1923

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 ...

. Prior to and during the

German occupation of France in World War II The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

the property was left abandoned.

Head family

In 1958 the farm was acquired by prominent French horseman

Alec Head Alec Head (31 July 1924 – 22 June 2022) was a French horse trainer and breeder. Biography Head was the owner of Haras du Quesnay, located near Deauville. A descendant of the trainers who founded the English Racing Colony in Chantilly, Oise, He ...

, a descendant of the trainers who founded the English Racing Colony in

Chantilly, Oise Chantilly ( , ) is a commune in the Oise department in the Valley of the Nonette in the Hauts-de-France region of Northern France. Surrounded by Chantilly Forest, the town of 10,863 inhabitants (2017) falls within the metropolitan area of Pari ...

. Alec Head undertook a massive restoration of the facilities and in 1959 brought in the farm's first stallion. Over the years he and his wife Ghislaine developed Haras du Quesnay into one of the leading stud farms in the country with horses acquired from across Europe and the United States. Children of Alec Head have been distinguished participants in the horse racing industry. Daughter Martine is involved with managing the farm, son Freddy was a leading jockey and a trainer most notably of

Goldikova Goldikova (15 March 2005 – 5 January 2021) was a champion French Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Breeders' Cup Mile three times and was the 2010 European Horse of the Year. She was based in France, although she also raced in the United St ...

, and daughter

Criquette Head Christiane "Criquette" Head (born 6 November 1948 at Marly-le-Roi, near Maisons-Laffitte, France) is a retired French racehorse trainer. Known as Criquette, she was born into the Thoroughbred horse racing business. Her great grandfather was a jock ...

is one of France's leading trainers and the most successful female Thoroughbred trainer in the world.

Notable stallions

Haras du Quesnay was home to prominent sires and broodmares such as

Sir Gaylord Sir Gaylord (February 12, 1959 – 1981) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who later became a successful sire. Background He was bred and raced by Christopher Chenery. Sir Gaylord was sired by the British-bred, American-raced Turn-To out ...

, 1968

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

winner

Dancer's Image Dancer's Image (April 10, 1965 – December 26, 1992) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the first winner in the history of the Kentucky Derby to be disqualified. Background Dancer's Image was a gray horse owned and bred by busines ...

, the leading sire of broodmares in France in 1980 Le Fabuleux,

Arctic Tern The Arctic tern (''Sterna paradisaea'') is a tern in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar breeding distribution covering the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Europe (as far south as Brittany), Asia, and North America (as far south a ...

Anabaa Anabaa (1992 – 2009) was an American-bred champion Thoroughbred racehorse who was trained in France during a racing career which lasted from September 1995 to October 1996. Anabaa failed to win until the age of four, but in 1996 he won his ...

, six-time champion sire in France

Highest Honor High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift to ...

, and Numerous, a son of Mr. Prospector.

References

Haras du Quesnay website
(English, French, Spanish languages) * ''Peter O'Sullevan's Horse Racing Heroes''.

Peter O'Sullevan Sir Peter O'Sullevan (3 March 1918 – 29 July 2015) was an Irish-British horse racing commentator for the BBC, and a correspondent for the Press Association, the ''Daily Express'', and ''Today''. He was the BBC's leading horse racing commen ...

(2005) Highdown Books {{ISBN, 1-904317-75-8
26 July 2006 article at the-racehorse.com on Haras du Quesnay
French racehorse owners and breeders Horse farms in France Buildings and structures in Calvados (department) Vanderbilt family residences English Racing Colony at Chantilly