Maintenon

Maintenon (foaled 1903 in France

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...

) was a French 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...

. He was bred by Gaston Dreyfus at his Haras du Perray in Les Bréviaires

Les Bréviaires

Les Bréviaires is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-References:*...

, Yvelines

Yvelines

Yvelines is a French department in the region of Île-de-France.-History:Yvelines was created from the western part of the defunct department of Seine-et-Oise on 1 January 1968 in accordance with a law passed on 10 January 1964 and a décret d'application from 26 February 1965.It gained the...

. Maintenon was out of the mare, Marcia, and sired by Le Sagittaire, a multiple winner of what today are Group One

Group One

Group One or Group 1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. Group One races may be run under handicap conditions in Australia but in Europe weight-for-age conditions always apply. Races may be also restricted to age groups or a...

 races.

Purchased as a yearling for twenty-three thousand French franc

French franc

The franc was a currency of France. Along with the Spanish peseta, it was also a de facto currency used in Andorra . Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money...

s by American sportsman William Kissam Vanderbilt

William Kissam Vanderbilt

William Kissam Vanderbilt was a member of the prominent American Vanderbilt family. He managed railroads and was a horse breeder.-Biography:...

 of the prominent Vanderbilt family

Vanderbilt family

The Vanderbilt family is an American family of Dutch origin prominent during the Gilded Age. It started off with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and expanded into various other areas of industry and philanthropy...

 of New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, Maintenon was conditioned for racing by future U.S. 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...

 trainer, William Duke. In 1906, Maintenon won ten major races in France, including the 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...

, and another two the following year.

In the 1906 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:...

, Maintenon was beaten by Epsom Derby

Epsom Derby

The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...

 winner Spearmint

Spearmint (horse)

Spearmint was a classic winning English Thoroughbred racehorse and a good sire. He sired classic winners in three countries: Great Britain, Ireland and the United States. His daughters produced the winners of eight classic races...

 and in anticipation of a rematch, Vanderbilt entered the colt in the 1907 Ascot Gold Cup

Ascot Gold Cup

The Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 2 miles and 4 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in June....

 at Ascot Racecourse

Ascot Racecourse

Ascot Racecourse is a famous English racecourse, located in the small town of Ascot, Berkshire, used for thoroughbred horse racing. It is one of the leading racecourses in the United Kingdom, hosting 9 of the UK's 32 annual Group 1 races...

 in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. However, in April of 1907 Maintenon suffered a tendon

Tendon

A tendon is a tough band of fibrous connective tissue that usually connects muscle to bone and is capable of withstanding tension. Tendons are similar to ligaments and fasciae as they are all made of collagen except that ligaments join one bone to another bone, and fasciae connect muscles to other...

 injury and was retired to 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...

. He first stood at Haras de Villebon in Villebon-sur-Yvette

Villebon-sur-Yvette

Villebon-sur-Yvette is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France.The inhabitants of Villebon-sur-Yvette are known as Villebonnais.-Geography:...

 then at his owner's Haras du Quesnay

Haras du Quesnay

Haras du Quesnay, known as "Le Quesnay", is a thoroughbred horse breeding farm in France about four miles outside the city of Deauville on 3 km², established in 1907 by wealthy American sportsman William Kissam Vanderbilt. He sold the property to another American horseman, A. Kingsley Macomber,...

. Among his offspring the most notable was Brumelli who won the 1917 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:...

 and Prix du Jockey Club

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...

 and who helped Maintenon become that year's Leading sire in France

Leading sire in France

The list below shows the leading Thoroughbred sire of racehorses in France for each year since 1887. This is determined by the amount of prizemoney won by the sire's progeny during the season .-----References:* -See also:*...

.

Following the death of owner Vanderbilt in 1922, the Haras du Quesnay and Maintenon were acquired by another American, A. Kingsley Macomber

A. Kingsley Macomber

Abraham Kingsley Macomber was an American adventurer, businessman, philanthropist, Thoroughbred-racehorse owner and breeder...

. The last foal sired by Maintenon was born in 1926.