Exbury (1959–1979) 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 ...

racehorse Horse racing is an 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 sports, as its bas ...

named for the famous Exbury Gardens Estate in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

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

Background

Bred at the Rothschild's Haras de Meautry in

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 ...

, 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

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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 ** US Chantilly, a football club *Château de Chantilly United States * Chantilly, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Chantilly (Charlotte neighborhood), North Carolina ...

by the Englishman, Geoffroy Watson, 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 and Match II were prominent, Exbury began to show some of his ability, winning two

conditions races Conditions races are horse racing, 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 th ...

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 ...

. 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 The National Horseracing Museum (NHRM) is a museum in Newmarket, Suffolk dedicated to the history of horseracing. It covers a 5-acre site on Palace Street in the centre of the town, having previously been housed in the Jockey Club Rooms on New ...

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

. In England he won the Coronation Cup 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 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 Hospita ...

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: 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 San Francisco * ...

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" an ...

, 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''. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not linked scientifically to any certain trait but is rathe ...

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 ...

, Coronation Cup (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 ta ...

. 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 that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

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 ...

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