The region’s legendary stud farms bear the memory of the horse lovers who founded them and made them prosper. In Meautry and Saint-Léonard, two families perpetuate a passion for horses that is more than a century old: the Rothschilds and the Wertheimers. In 2023, the latter, owners of Chanel, brilliantly followed this tradition with the acquisition of around forty exceptional horses from the Wildenstein stable, donated by the art dealer’s niece.
An extraordinary transaction reminiscent of the sale of Jean-Luc Lagardère’s 222 horses to the Aga Khan in 2005. And although the Quesnay stud farm has belonged to producer Stéphane Courbit since 2022, the place remains closely linked to the history of its former owners, the Head family, a legendary dynasty of breeders and jockeys.
These stud farms are just as haunted by the memory of the fabulous stars who were raised there: the famous Trêve in Quesnay, Brantôme in Meautry, Goldikova in Saint-Léonard… And it is the imagination that runs wild.
Stephane Courbit
The Haras du Quesnay, with its 280 hectares of pastures 6 kilometers from Deauville (Calvados), was acquired in 2022 by the producer Stéphane Courbit. Specializing in thoroughbred breeding, the property remains closely associated with the Head family, the legendary dynasty of trainers who owned it for more than six decades: Alec Head, four times winner of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, his son the star jockey Freddy, and his daughter, Christiane (known as “Criquette”), twice champion of the Prix with her legendary mare Trêve. Linked to the Head family through her passion for horses, Queen Elizabeth II stayed at Le Quesnay.
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Mohammed Al-Maktoum
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum (in light suit), Emir of Dubai since 2006. Credit: Eric Fenouil
Owner with his brother of the powerful Godolphin stable, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, Emir of Dubai since 2006, is one of the biggest investors in the world in the racehorse market. He can be found every year in Deauville, where he personally attends the sales of yearlings, colts or fillies in their second year. With 5,350,000 euros paid for ten horses, the Emir dominated the list of buyers at the Arqana auctions in August 2023. He bought, among others, a son of Dubawi, a legendary stallion, for 1.25 million euros.
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David Serves
Onepoint Group founder David Layani (center). Credit: Eric Fenouil
The stud farm he recently set up bears his name: the David Layani stable. It already has around ten horses. The founder of the Onepoint group ended up withdrawing from the race he had been running for months against the Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky to buy the former French IT flagship Atos. The tireless 45-year-old entrepreneur has also been a great horse lover since his early youth. Cheeky, he did not hesitate to launch himself into an auction last year against the Emir of Qatar – who won the bid.
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Sheikh Abdallah bin Khalifa al-Thani
The Victot-Pontfol stud farm was acquired in 2014 by Sheikh Abdallah ben Khalifa al-Thani. Credit: Eric Fenouil
With its 16th-century castle surrounded by a moat and its half-timbered stables, the Victot-Pontfol stud farm was acquired in 2014 by Sheikh Abdallah bin Khalifa al-Thani. Brother of the previous Emir and Prime Minister of Qatar from 1996 to 2007, this horse racing enthusiast, French-speaking and Francophile, played a major role in Qatar’s sponsorship of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. The premises were long run by Roland Monnier, a figure in thoroughbred breeding, before coming under the control of Alban de Mieulle, the Frenchman who has been training the Sheikh’s horses for thirty years – he had already redeveloped the Grand Courgeon stud farm, near Lion-d’Angers (Maine-et-Loire).
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David Salabi
David Salabi (right, in sky blue shirt) in Deauville. The investment banker and business leader is also a racehorse breeder. Credit: Eric Fenouil
Owner of the Haras du Thenney since 2016, investment banker David Salabi, founder of Cambon Partners, was introduced to the thrills of racecourses as a child by his father, who took him to the racecourses. In the mid-2000s, he first started acquiring horses before investing in a stud farm in Saint-Pierre-Azif (Calvados). Passionate about genetics, David Salabi is starting to see the fruits of his investments. His mare Fakarava, daughter of the famous stallion Le Havre and bred at the stud farm, was a winner of the Critérium de Lyon last September.
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Edward de Rothschild
The Haras de Meautry was created in 1875 by two brothers, Alphonse and Gustave de Rothschild. Credit: Delaroque/Haras de Meautry
The splendid stud farms of the Meautry estate – a hundred hectares on the edge of Deauville – were built in 1875 by Alphonse and Gustave de Rothschild around a manor dating from the 16th and 17th centuries, listed as a historic monument. Investment banker, former president of France Galop and former shareholder of Release, His great-grandson, Edouard de Rothschild, inherited it. In 1967, Queen Elizabeth II had lunch there and was able to admire the gardens designed by the British Russell Page. Some great stars were born there, including Brantôme, Eclair au chocolat and Exbury. All three won the Arc de Triomphe prize wearing the blue jacket and yellow hat, the house colours.
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Gérard et Alain Wertheimer
The Saint-Léonard stud farm, founded in 1911 in Saint-Etienne-la-Thillaye in Calvados. Credit: Eric Fenouil
The legendary Saint-Léonard stud farm, founded in 1911 in Saint-Etienne-la-Thillaye in Calvados, first belonged to the Egyptian prince Saïd Toussoun and then to the Marquise de Roualle. Since 1992, it has been in the hands of the Wertheimer brothers, who have more than tripled the size of the estate (from 80 to 300 hectares). The owners of Chanel spend around 10 million euros per year breeding around a hundred horses in France. A work by Charlie Langton, a bronze statue of the mare Goldikova, fourteen times winner of a Group 1 race, poses in front of the stables.
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Gérard Wertheimer and Édouard de Rothschild
Gérard Wertheimer (left) and Edouard de Rothschild. Credit: Eric Fenouil
They are the two largest French horse owners. Edouard de Rothschild owns the Meautry estate and, after two decades of reigning at the top of France Galop (from 2004 to 2023), has just handed over the presidency to Guillaume de Saint-Seine. Chanel’s heir, Gérard Wertheimer, owner, with his brother Alain, of the Saint-Léonard stud farm. In 2023, their famous blue jacket, with white sleeves and seams, once again finished at the top of the owners’ ranking in France.
