The fleet-footed Miesque was the kind of racehorse that you couldn’t take your eyes off of or you might miss an unexpected burst of speed that would change the entire race. She was the first horse to ever win two consecutive Breeders’ Cup races, a feat that’s even more impressive when you consider that she was up against a strong field of older males that included Warning, Bet Twice (a Belmont Stakes winner), and Steinlen in her second Breeders’ Cup. She was also a Group One/Grade I (G1) winner at two, three, and four years old, for a total of 10 G1 wins.
Miesque’s wins earned her the champion miler and three-year-old champion filly awards in France and England. She was inducted into the American Racing Hall of Fame in 1999, and she ranked 82nd among the greatest American racehorses of the 20th century and 19th among the 26 fillies and mares of the 20th century by an expert panel convened by The Blood-Horse.
Aside from being a great racer, Miesque was also a successful broodmare, producing five stakes’ winners, including French Classic winners Kingmambo and East of the Moon.
Horse Profile
- Foaled: March 14, 1984
- Bred: USA
- Sex: Mare
- Debuted: 1986
- Retired: 1988
- Death: January 20, 2011, euthanized due to age-related infirmities at 27
- Color and Markings: Bay
- Sire: Nureyev
- Dam: Pasadoble
- Owner: Stavros Niarchos
- Breeder: Flaxman Holdings Ltd.
- Trainer:François Boutin
- Jockey: Freddy Head
Characteristics
Miesque is a well-balanced bay mare with excellent shoulders and strong quarters. She had a rather plain head and was intelligent and easy to train.
Historical Achievements, Honors Received, and Recognitions
- French champion 2-year-old filly (1986)
- French champion 3-year-old filly (1987)
- French champion miler (1987)
- English champion 3-year-old filly (1987)
- English champion miler (1987)
- Eclipse Award, American champion turf female (1987, 1988)
- French champion older female (1988)
- French co-champion miler (1988)
- National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (inducted in 1999)
Rankings
- Miesque was rated #82 among the greatest American racehorses and 19th among the 26 fillies and mares of the 20th century by an expert panel convened by The Blood-Horse (Thoroughbred Champions, Eclipse Press, 7th printing, 2005).
- Rated at 132 pounds on the 1988 World Thoroughbred Rankings.
- Rated at 133 pounds by Timeform.
Stud Career
Miesque produced 14 named foals, six of which were winners. Her daughters were also successful producers, and the family produced two classic winners in 2018. Her maternal-line descendent Loves Only You also won the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf.
Racing Career
| Record | Earnings |
|---|---|
16: 12–3–1 | $2,096,517 |
| WON RACES | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Distance | Race | Grade | Track | Finish | Winning Time | Winning Margin | Jockey |
1986 – Two-year-old season | ||||||||
September 21, 1986 | 7 furlongs | Prix de la Salamandre | Longchamp | 1 | ||||
October 5, 1986 | 8 furlongs | Prix Marcel Boussac | Longchamp | 1 | ||||
1987 – Three-year-old season | ||||||||
April 3, 1987 | Prix Imprudence | Maisons-Laffitte | 1 | |||||
April 30, 1987 | 1 mile | General Accident One Thousand Guineas | I | Newmarket Racecourse | 1 | 1:38.48 | Freddie Head | |
May 17, 1987 | Dubai Poule d'Essai des Pouliche | Longchamp | 1 | |||||
August 16, 1987 | Prix du Haras Fresnay Buffard Jacques Le Marois | Deauville | 1 | |||||
September 6, 1987 | Prix du Moulin de Longchamp Ecurie Fustok | Longchamp | 1 | |||||
November 21, 1987 | 1 mile | Breeders' Cup Mile | I | Hollywood Park | 1 | 1:32.8 | 3 ½ lengths | Freddie Head |
1988 – Three-year-old season | ||||||||
May 29, 1988 | 1 ⅛ miles | She won the Prix d'Ispahan | I | Longchamp | 1 | 1:55.20 | Freddie Head | |
August 14, 1988 | 1 mile | Prix du Haras Fresnay Buffard Jacques Le Marois | I | Deauville | 1 | 1:38.60 | Freddie Head | |
November 5, 1988 | 1 mile | Breeders' Cup Mile | I | Churchill Downs | 1 | 1:38.60 | 4 lengths | Freddie Head |
| LOST RACES | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Distance | Race | Grade | Track | Placement | Time | Losing Margin | Jockey |
1986 – Two-year-old season | ||||||||
August 24, 1986 | Prix Morny | Deauville | 3 | |||||
1987 – Three-year-old season | ||||||||
June 14, 1987 | Prix de Diane Hermes | Chantilly | 2 | |||||
September 26, 1987 | Queen Elizabeth II Stakes | Ascot | 2 | |||||
1988 – Three-year-old season | ||||||||
August 4, 1988 | 1 mile | Prix Du Moulin de Longchamp | I | Longchamp | 2 | 1:40.30 | Freddie Head | |
September 4, 1988 | Prix du Moulin de Longchamp Ecurie Fustok | Longchamp | 2 | |||||
Fun facts
- Miesque was nicknamed “La Concierge” by barn staff due to her interest in everything happening outside her stall.
- Miesque is one of two horses to have won two American championships off a single race each; the other is High Chaparral.
- Miesque liked sugar cubes, but her favorite was honey. Her trainer would regularly pour honey over her food.
- The annual Prix Miesque, inaugurated in 2001 (replaced the Prix Saint-Roman) at the Hippodrome in Maisons-Laffitte, Yvelines, is held in her honor.
- In America, the Miesque Stakes, inaugurated in 1991, was run at Hollywood Park Racetrack. It is where Miesque won her first Breeders’ Cup Mile, but it closed in 2013.
- Miesque is one of 50 Thoroughbreds profiled in Royal Blood: Fifty Years of Classic Thoroughbreds.
- Miesque is one of the Thoroughbreds profiled in photographs and essays in Barbara Livingston’s More Old Friends: Visits With My Favorite Thoroughbreds.