Historic French stud farm Haras de Fresnay-le Buffard, which has been home to the winners of 45 European Classics, has been put on the market for an undisclosed price by the Niarchos Family.
Located in the heart of Normandy, the 205-hectare farm (506 acres) has been under Niarchos ownership since being purchased in 1979 by the late Stavros Niarchos from prominent French owner-breeder Marcel Boussac.
Alan Cooper, Racing Manager to the Niarchos Family, said, “It is emotional for the family to say goodbye to Fresnay, but as our racing and breeding interests have evolved over the years, we now have horses in a variety of international locations, which makes this the right move for us at this time.”
Over the 43-year period under Niarchos ownership, the farm has expanded to include additional lands, barns, and a pre-training track. All paddocks on the property were recently reseeded and are maintained by a rotation of sheep and cattle. Besides the paddocks, the farm is supported by barns and stable yards with approximately 200 boxes, as well as a 14-stall isolation barn at the Haute Cote annex.
Champions and Classic winners that called Fresnay-le-Buffard home at various stages of their careers include the great racemare and bluehen producer Miesque (Nureyev), her son, the celebrated sire Kingmambo (Mr. Prospector), as well as sire duo Sulamani (Ire) and his sire Hernando (Ire) (Niniski), and GI Breeders' Cup Mile heroine Six Perfections (Fr) (Celtic Swing {GB}), among many others. Current Gainesway stallion Karakontie (Jpn) (Bernstein) also won the Breeders' Cup Mile for the operation in 2014.
The family remains fully committed to its international racing and breeding operation, which encompasses Europe, America, Australia, South Africa and Japan.
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