Wertheimer et Frère 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 ...

horse racing and

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 ra ...

business partnership between brothers Alain and Gérard Wertheimer of France. The Wertheimer brothers are the owners of the House of Chanel in Paris. They inherited that company and the horse racing business from their father

Jacques Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...

who had inherited a racing stable from his parents Pierre and Germaine Wertheimer. The brothers operate as La Presle Farm and/or Wertheimer Farm in the United States and in France as Wertheimer et Frère where they have won numerous important

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 ...

. Alec Head trained for the family in Europe until his retirement in 1984 but for a number of years continued to act as their bloodstock advisor. Head's daughter Christiane "Criquette" Head took over as trainer in 1983 and continued to have great success until they ended their working relationship in 2006. In the United States, the Wertheimer brothers won the 1993 Breeders' Cup Turf and earned American Horse of the Year honors with Kotashaan. In 2003, they won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies with

Halfbridled Halfbridled (foaled February 2, 2001 in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the 2003 American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly. Background Halfbridled is a bay mare bred by in Kentucky by the French-based Wertheimer et Frère, who ...

. Both horses were trained by

Richard Mandella Richard Eugene Mandella (born November 5, 1950 in Altadena, California), is a Thoroughbred horse trainer and a member of the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame. Mandella's father, a blacksmith, introduced him to horses at an early age and while still in ...

. In 2008, 2009, and 2010, their filly

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 ...

won the TVG

Breeders' Cup Mile The Breeders' Cup Mile is a Grade 1 Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up, run on a grass course. It has been conducted annually as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships since the event's incepti ...

, becoming the only horse to ever win a Breeders' Cup event three times. In 2011, Goldikova competed in the event for a fourth consecutive year, finishing 3rd. Goldikova was trained by

Freddy Head Freddy Head (born 19 June 1947, in Neuilly, France) is a retired champion jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing and currently a horse trainer. Known also as "Freddie", his grandfather was a jockey as was his father Alec Head who also became a succes ...

who is the brother of Criquette Head.

Racing background

An interest in racing goes back two generations in a family which has been responsible for the development of a number of top stallions, including Lyphard, Riverman and Green Dancer ... Alain and Gerard's grandfather, Pierre, was a bastion of the European turf, winning English classics such as the 1956 Epsom Derby. His death in 1965 saw the famous blue and white silks passed on to his widow, who was France's leading owner in 1972, and when she died in 1974, on again to Jacques ... Father Jacques Wertheimer was champion owner in his first full season, sweeping the 1975 French 1,000 Guineas, 2,000 Guineas and Prix du Jockey-Club with Ivanjica, Green Dancer and Val de L’Orne. Ivanjica went on to win the 1976 Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe, an event which fell to Wertheimer again in 1981, courtesy of another filly, Gold River, who had won the Prix Royal Oak (French St Leger) the previous year Selected Group One race wins: * Breeders' Cup Turf : Kotashaan (1993) *

Critérium de Saint-Cloud The Critérium de Saint-Cloud is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Saint-Cloud over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles), and it is sche ...

: Special Quest (1997), Goldamix (2000) *

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 ...

: Intello (2013) *

Prix Marcel Boussac The Prix Marcel Boussac is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is sche ...

: Juvenia (1998) *

Prix Saint-Alary The Prix Saint-Alary is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1 miles), and it is scheduled t ...

: Fidélité (2003) * Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies :

(2003) *

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 ...

: Solemia (2012)

References

ESPN article on the 2003 Breeders' Cup
French racehorse owners and breeders Horse farms in France French business families Owners of Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winners Wertheimer family {{horseracing-stub