Though there have been plenty of new names on the French bloodstock scene in recent years, the one with its own pedigree stretching back generations, and which is almost emblematic of the breeding heartland of Normandy, is Haras du Quesnay.After a lull of a few years since the stud's sale by the Head family, Quesnay is re-emerging with a refreshed rather than completely new look, and with some familiar faces still very much involved.“When you drive in through the gate, it still looks as it did,” says Quesnay's longtime manager Vincent Rimaud. “We've replaced all the fences, and so the old cement ones that were there before are now wood, but it does look exactly the same as it did before the renovation. It's just all new.“And actually that was part of the deal. First of all, you cannot build any new buildings on a place like Quesnay. It's impossible to come and build, say, a new house or turn it into a golf course. But under the agricultural classification you can have new buildings for horses, and we have built a new barn.”Founded in 1907 by the American philanthropist William K Vanderbilt, Quesnay became synonymous throughout the second half of the 20th century with the great trainer and breeder Alec Head, whose father William bought the stud in 1958 and set about revitalising its reputation as a stallion farm. It was where Riverman started his stud career before being sold to stand in America. The Quesnay stallion wing was later home to the likes of Anabaa, Bering and Highest Honour. Following the death of Alec Head in June 2022, part of the substantial farm was sold to Kamel and Pauline Chehboub who have developed their own stallion stud under the Haras de Beaumont banner. A dispersal of the Haras du Quesnay stock at Arqana at the end of that year and the sale of the remainder of the stud appeared to signal the end of what had become an iconic name in worldwide breeding. Happily, though, it was merely the end of one long and significant chapter written by William and Alec Head and Alec's children Criquette, Freddy and Martine. And even as a new era dawns for Quesnay, there remains a lingering involvement of the first family of French racing. Vincent Rimaud remains at the helm | Zuzanna Lupa “When the Head family sold the place, we already had clients on the farm, boarding mares all year long,” says Rimaud. “So we had a discussion with the clients and told them what was happening, and that we were going to have renovation work, et cetera, and that we would not have any more stallions or be preparing for the sales.“We asked if they were happy to keep boarding their mares with us, and all of them said yes. Criquette Head and Freddy Head had their own private mares on the farm separate to the family mares under the name of the Haras du Quesnay, and they left their mares here and have actually become clients.“They're good clients to have and it's nice for them to see the transformation and to see that the place is still a breeding farm for thoroughbreds, and not something else as people have been told or speculated.” Weanlinngs on the farm | Haras du Quesnay Rimaud also has a family tie of his own as his brother Georges, the recently retired director of the Aga Khan Studs in France, boards a mare at Quesnay in partnership with a friend. He continues, “We modernised the place, but we have kept the look and we maintained the history. People who knew the Quesnay before will recognise the place. But it's nicer than before, and even Criquette, when she comes to see her horses around the paddocks, she's really happy, and she's kind of wishing that her parents could have seen it, because the atmosphere, the soul of the place, it's still here.”The 150-hectare farm at Vauville currently has around 40 mares plus their followers and can accommodate up to 55 mares. Along with Criquette and Freddy Head and the Chehboubs, famed owner-breeder George Strawbridge has also remained a client. The stud's new owner, a private individual who was not previously involved in the bloodstock business, is however acutely aware of Quesnay's rich heritage, both the agricultural aspect and from the perspective of its racing history. Enhanced landscaping has been undertaken across the farm, with about 80 mature trees having already been planted and plans in place to introduce more. Rimaud maintains that Haras du Quesnay will not return to standing stallions but will instead continue to focus on breeding high-class stock to enhance a graduates' roll of honour which includes the dual Arc winner Treve, bred by Alec and Ghislaine Head when using resident stallion Motivator. The great filly was trained by their daughter Criquette, whose previous Arc winner Three Troikas was another family triumph. The Arc theme continues with Detroit, who, like Urban Sea, both won the Arc and produced a winner of France's premier race. Detroit, by Riverman, and her Group 1-winning half-sister Durtal, by Lyphard, were raised at Quesnay for Societe Aland. Haras du Quesnay, close to Deauville “The stallions will not be coming back, though a return to sales consignment is possible,” Rimaud says. “We don't know yet because we need to redevelop the clients. For now, the farm's clients are largely end-users, so no horses have had to go to the sales. But if someone wants to breed here they can send their yearlings away to be prepped, and actually, that's the way it is happening on many farms now.”The aim, he says, is to provide “a niche close to Deauville, where we have a very nice set-up on a very good land, where we offer the possibility to raise horses the best way possible.”Rimaud is also keen to dispel the idea that Haras du Quesnay and its historic chateau is in the process of being developed into a luxury hotel.“It is important to us to tell people that the Quesnay is still a stud farm and we will carry on boarding horses and breeding them,” he adds. “It's good to be still in this game and hopefully we can breed another very good one.”The post Revitalised Haras du Quesnay ‘Still in the Game’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.