Serena Mary Rothschild, Baroness Rothschild (''née'' Serena Mary Dunn; 28 April 1934 – 13 January 2019) was a British

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 owner and the wife of

Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild Nathaniel Charles Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild (29 April 1936 – 26 February 2024), was a British hereditary peer, investment banker and member of the Rothschild banking family. Rothschild held important roles in business and Britis ...

Early life

Rothschild was born in 1934, the eldest child of Sir Philip Gordon Dunn, Bt., and Lady Mary Sybil St. Clair-Erskine (daughter of James St Clair-Erskine, 5th Earl of Rosslyn). Her sister is the writer

Nell Dunn Nell Mary Dunn (born 9 June 1936) is an English playwright, screenwriter and author. She is known especially for a volume of short stories, '' Up the Junction'', and a novel, ''Poor Cow''. Early years Dunn was born in London the second daughter ...

. Her paternal grandfather was Sir James Dunn, Bt., a prominent

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

industrialist. Her parents divorced in 1944 and remarried each other in 1969.

Thoroughbred racing

Rothschild oversaw the management of Waddesdon Stud at

Waddesdon Manor Waddesdon Manor is a English country house, country house in the village of Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire, England. Owned by the National Trust and managed by the Rothschild Foundation, it is one of the National Trust's most visited properties, ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

. In November 2006, she paid 3 million

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...

for the mare

Spinning Queen Spinning Queen (foaled 27 March 2003) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare best known for her emphatic victory over a top-class field in the 2006 Sun Chariot Stakes. As a two-year-old in 2005 she won on her debut and went on to run ...

, then a

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

price (for a filly or broodmare) of 4.6 million guineas when she purchased

Magical Romance Magical Romance (foaled 5 February 2002) is an Irish-bred British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. In a racing career which lasted from June 2004 until September 2005, she won three of her nine races. As a two-year-old in 2004, she ...

at the

Tattersalls Tattersalls (formerly Tattersall's) is the main auctioneer of race horses in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Founding It was founded in 1766 by Richard Tattersall (1724–1795), who had been stud groom to the second Duke of Kingston. ...

sale. In 2009, her colt

Pounced Pounced is a Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf-winning thoroughbred racehorse owned by Lady Rothschild. He was retired to stud in 2010. He is a son of Rahy who stands in Kentucky and the Storm Cat mare Golden Cat. On November 7, 2009 at Santa Anit ...

, trained by

John Gosden John Harry Martin Gosden (born 30 March 1951) is a British Horse trainer, racehorse trainer. He has trained over 3,000 winners worldwide, including victories in the Breeders' Cup Classic, the Epsom Derby, Derby, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, A ...

and ridden by

Frankie Dettori Lanfranco "Frankie" Dettori (; born 15 December 1970), is an Italian jockey who was based in England for a career spanning over 35 years. He was British flat racing Champion Jockey three times (1994, 1995 and 2004) and rode the winners of 287 ...

, won the

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf is an American Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-old horses, run on a grass course at a distance of one mile. It is part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, the ''de facto'' year-end championship for North ...

Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious race ...

Arcadia, California Arcadia is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located about northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. It contains a series of adjacent parks consisting of t ...

. In 2011, her colt

Nathaniel Nathaniel is an English variant of the biblical Hebrew name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. ...

won the

King Edward VII Stakes The King Edward VII Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 211 yards (2,406 m ...

(G2) at Ascot and the

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot ...

(G1), also at Ascot. In 2012, she won the

Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown ...

(G1) with Nathaniel, The

Lancashire Oaks The Lancashire Oaks is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Haydock Park over a distance of 1 mile, 3 furlongs and 175 yards ...

(G2), and then the

Irish Oaks The Irish Oaks is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs (2,414 metres), and it ...

(Classic G1) with

Great Heavens Great Heavens (foaled 28 April 2009) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2012 Irish Oaks. She is owned by Serena Dunn Rothschild, Lady Rothschild and trained by John Gosden. Breeding Great Heavens is the daughter of Galileo (horse), ...

Personal life

On 20 October 1961, she married financier

Jacob Rothschild Nathaniel Charles Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild (29 April 1936 – 26 February 2024), was a British hereditary peer, investment banker and member of the Rothschild banking family. Rothschild held important roles in business and Britis ...

, with whom she had four children, Hannah (b. 1962), Beth (b. 1964), Emily (b. 1967), and

(b. 1971). Her son married Iona ''Annabelle'' Neilson on 13 Novembet 1995, and they were divorced in 1998. The couple made their home at

Pewsey Pewsey is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish at the centre of the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire, about south of Marlborough, Wiltshire, Marlborough and west of London. It is within reach of the M4 motorway and the A303 and i ...

, Wiltshire, and maintained a villa on the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

island of

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

. She and her husband were involved in a number of charitable and humanitarian organisations, and she was a Vice President of the Wiltshire Blind Association. Lady Rothschild died in a London hospital on 13 January 2019 following a short illness. She was 84.

References

1934 births 2019 deaths British racehorse owners and breeders British baronesses

Serena Dunn Rothschild Serena Mary Rothschild, Baroness Rothschild (''née'' Serena Mary Dunn; 28 April 1934 – 13 January 2019) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse owner and the wife of Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild. Early life Rothschild was born i ...

Daughters of baronets British people of Scottish descent British people of Canadian descent {{UK-horseracing-bio-stub