François Boutin (21 January 1937 – 1 February 1995) was a
French Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...
horse trainer
A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them good behaviors and/or coaching them for events, which ...
.
The son of a
farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...
, he was born in the village of
Beaunay
Beaunay () is a commune in the Marne department in northeastern France.
Population
Personalities
Beaunay is the birthplace of thoroughbred racehorse trainer, François Boutin.
See also
*Communes of the Marne department
The following ...
in the northerly
Seine Maritime
Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inféri ...
département
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...
. He began riding horses at a young age and competed in
show jumping
Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows ar ...
and
cross-country equestrianism
Cross country equestrian jumping forms one of the three phases of the sport of eventing; it may also be a competition in its own right, known as hunter trials or simply "cross-country", although these tend to be lower-level, local competiti ...
. He began his professional racing career driving horses in
harness racing
Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia ...
then after serving as a
flat racing
Horse racing is an equestrianism, equestrian performance activity, 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 spor ...
apprentice, obtained his license as a trainer in 1964.
François Boutin was the trainer for the stables of
Jean-Luc Lagardère
Jean-Luc Lagardère (; 10 February 1928 – 14 March 2003) was a major French businessman, CEO of the Lagardère Group, one of the largest French conglomerates.
Career
Jean-Luc Lagardère was a '' Supélec'' engineer. He began his career in ...
and for the
Stavros Niarchos
Stavros Spyrou Niarchos (, ; 3 July 1909 – 15 April 1996) was a Greek billionaire shipping tycoon. Starting in 1952, he had the world's biggest supertankers built for his fleet. Propelled by both the Suez Crisis and increasing demand for oil, ...
family. During his more than thirty-year career he was the leading money winner in France seven times (1976, 1978–81, 1983–84). Although victory eluded him 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 over a distance ...
, Boutin won the
Poule d'Essai des Poulains
Molof (Ampas, Poule, Powle-Ma) is a poorly documented Papuan languages, Papuan language spoken by about 200 people in :id:Molof, Senggi, Keerom, Molof village, Senggi District, Keerom Regency.
Classification
Stephen Wurm, Wurm (1975) placed it a ...
on six occasions and most every other important race in the country multiple times.
Racing outside France Boutin's horse
Sagaro was the first to win
England's Ascot Gold Cup
The Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 2 miles 3 furlongs and 210 yards (4 ...
three years in a row. As well, Boutin-trained horses won the 1982 English
2,000 Guineas
The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1.6 km) and scheduled to take place each yea ...
, the 1987
1,000 Guineas and the
Matron Stakes in
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
(Nureyev, ridden by stable jockey
Philippe Paquet Philippe Paquet is a former champion jockey from France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Sai ...
, finished first in the 1980 Two Thousand Guineas, but was later disqualified). François Boutin trained
April Run
{{Infobox racehorse
, horsename = April Run
, image =
, caption =
, sire = Run the Gantlet
, grandsire = Tom Rolfe
, dam = April Fancy
, damsire = No Argument
, sex = mare
, foaled = 1978-{{death date and age, 1994, 1978
, country = ...
for
Diana M. Firestone who won in France plus had back-to-back wins in the 1981-82
Grade I
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational at
Belmont Park
Belmont Park is a thoroughbred racing, thoroughbred horse racetrack in Elmont, New York, just east of New York City limits best known for hosting the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the American Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United Stat ...
.
Boutin is best remembered in the United States as the trainer of the
Hall of Fame
A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
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
...
Miesque
Miesque ( ; March 14, 1984 – January 20, 2011) was a champion Thoroughbred racemare. At age three, she was a dual Classic winner in France and Britain, then went on to win the Breeders' Cup Mile in America. Her four-year-old campaign was highl ...
who had back-to-back wins in the
Breeders' Cup Mile
The Breeders' Cup Mile is a conditions races, Grade 1 Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up, run on a sod, grass course. It has been conducted annually as part of the Breeders' Cup, Breeders' Cup World C ...
in 1987 and 1988 and for
Arazi, whose breathtaking victory in the 1991
Breeders' Cup Juvenile
The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings raced on dirt. It is held annually in late October or early November at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup W ...
was followed by his shocking upset in the 1992
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...
.
From his first marriage he had one son, Eric, and two daughters, Patricia and Nathalie. A widower, he remarried in 1989 to
Princess Lucy Young Ruspoli, the daughter of
William T. Young of
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...
. Patricia is currently in the racing business.
In 1995, François Boutin died from
liver cancer
Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...
in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
.
The
Prix François Boutin at
Hippodrome Deauville-La Touques race course in
Deauville
Deauville () is a communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados department, Normandy (administrative region), Normandy, northwestern France. Major attractions include its port, harbour, Race track, race course, marinas, con ...
is named in his honor. His grand children give back the trophy.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boutin, Francois
1937 births
1995 deaths
French horse trainers
Deaths from liver cancer in France