Finasseur was a French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 racehorse

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

 who, at age three, won the two most prestigious races in France. He was bred by Edmond Blanc at his Haras de Jardy

Haras de Jardy

Haras de Jardy was a Thoroughbred horse breeding operation established in 1890 in Marnes-la-Coquette France by the prominent French statesman and horseman Edmond Blanc...

 stud

Stud (animal)

A stud animal is a registered animal retained for breeding. The terms for the male of a given animal species usually imply that the animal is entire—that is, not castrated—and therefore capable of siring offspring...

 farm at Marnes-la-Coquette

Marnes-la-Coquette

Marnes-la-Coquette is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. Located from the center of Paris, the town is situated between the Parc de Saint-Cloud and the Forest of Fausses-Reposes...

 about sixteen kilometers west of central Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 and purchased for racing by Michel Ephrussi

Michel Ephrussi

Michel Ephrussi was a Russian-born French banker who also bred and raced Thoroughbreds.A member of the Russian-Jewish Ephrussi family, Michel was born in the free port of Odessa where his father founded the Ephrussi Bank and was involved in the exporting of wheat...

, a wealthy businessman connected to the Rothschild banking family of France

Rothschild banking family of France

The Rothschild banking family of France was founded in 1812 in Paris by James Mayer Rothschild . James was sent there from his home in Frankfurt, Germany by his father, Mayer Amschel Rothschild...

.

Ephrussi entrusted the colt's race conditioning to trainer

Horse trainer

In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...

, James d'Okhuysen. Sent to race at age two, Finasseur notably won the 1904 Prix des Chênes

Prix des Chênes

The Prix des Chênes is a Group 3 flat horse race in France which is open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and geldings. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,600 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.-History:...

 at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris.

As a three-year-old, Finasseur was the dominant horse in French racing, winning the Prix du President de la Republique

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 , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late June.-History:...

 at Maisons-Laffitte Racecourse

Maisons-Laffitte Racecourse

The Hippodrome de Maisons-Laffitte at 1 avenue de la Pelouse in the northwestern Parisian suburb of Maisons-Laffitte in France is a turf horse racing facility and track for Thoroughbred flat racing...

, the then 1½ mile French Derby

Prix du Jockey Club

The Prix du Jockey Club, sometimes referred to as the French Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...

 at Chantilly Racecourse

Chantilly Racecourse

Chantilly Racecourse is a Thoroughbred turf racecourse for flat racing in Chantilly, Oise, France, about north of the centre of the city of Paris....

. He was ridden to victory by future United States Racing Hall of Fame

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...

 inductee Nash Turner. An American, Turner came to France for fellow American owner/trainer H. Eugene Leigh

H. Eugene Leigh

Hiram Eugene Leigh was an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer/owner and breeder who had a highly successful career in the United States as well as in Europe....

 and chose to make his permanent home there. Finasseur then won what was the most prestigious race in France at the time, the Grand Prix de Paris

Grand Prix de Paris

The Grand Prix de Paris is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in July.-History:...

. His other major win came in the Grand Prix de Bruxelles at the Hippodrome de Boitsfort in the Boitsfort

Watermael-Boitsfort

Watermael-Boitsfort or Watermaal-Bosvoorde is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region in Belgium....

 suburb of Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

, Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

.

Retired to stud duty at his owner's Haras du Gazon in Normandy

Normandy

Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...

, Finasseur had only been bred to a few mares

Mare (horse)

A mare is an adult female horse or other equine.In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse age three and younger. However, in Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four years old; in harness racing a mare is a...

 when he injured himself in his stall and broke a leg bone. The injury forced his owner to euthanize

Animal euthanasia

Animal euthanasia is the act of putting to death painlessly or allowing to die, as by withholding extreme medical measures, an animal suffering from an incurable, especially a painful, disease or condition. Euthanasia methods are designed to cause minimal pain and distress...

 the valuable horse. Of note, a Finasseur filly named Stanzia was purchased in utero by Haras San Ignacio in Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

. Her colt, Solpido, was a successful runner who broke several Argentinian time records.