Exbury 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...

 named for the famous Exbury Gardens Estate

Exbury Gardens

Exbury Gardens is a famous garden in Hampshire, England, which belongs to a branch of the Rothschild family. It is situated in the village of Exbury, just to the east of Beaulieu across the river from Bucklers Hard...

 in Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

, 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...

 belonging to owner Guy de Rothschild's

Guy de Rothschild

Baron Guy Édouard Alphonse Paul de Rothschild was a French banker and member of the Rothschild family. He chaired the bank Rothschild Frères from 1967 to 1979, when it was nationalized by the French government, and maintained possessions in other French and foreign companies including Imerys...

 cousin, Edmund de Rothschild

Edmund Leopold de Rothschild

Edmund Leopold de Rothschild, CBE, TD was an English financier, a member of the prominent Rothschild banking family of England, and a recipient of the Victoria Medal of Honour , given by the Royal Horticultural Society....

.

Bred at the Rothschild's Haras de Meautry

Haras de Meautry

Haras de Meautry in Touques, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France, is a thoroughbred horse breeding farm. It was acquired in the 19th century by horse-racing enthusiast Alphonse James de Rothschild who passed it down to his offspring so that today it is in the hands of Edouard Etienne de...

 in Touques, Calvados, through his sire's line Exbury is a descendant of Haras de Meautry's great champion Brantôme

Brantôme (horse)

Brantôme was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and prominent sire. Owned by the Haras de Meautry stable of Édouard Alphonse de Rothschild, he was named for the city of Brantôme, Dordogne...

 and on his mare's side, the extremely important Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 sire, Nearco

Nearco

Nearco was an Italian bred Thoroughbred racehorse described by Thoroughbred Heritage as "one of the greatest racehorses of the Twentieth Century" and "one of the most important sires of the century." He was not only unbeaten, winning 14 races at distances from 5 furlongs to 1 mile 7 furlongs ,...

. Trained at Chantilly

Chantilly, Oise

Chantilly is a small city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune in the department of Oise.It is in the metropolitan area of Paris 38.4 km...

 by the Englishman, Geoffroy Watson, a son of trainer John Watson who for forty years was the private trainer for the successful racing stable of Leopold de Rothschild

Leopold de Rothschild

Leopold de Rothschild CVO was a British banker, thoroughbred race horse breeder, and a member of the prominent Rothschild family.-Education and career:...

.

At age two, Exbury started four times, winning once and finishing second three times. As a three-year-old, in a year where Val de Loir

Val de Loir

Val de Loir was a French Thoroughbred racehorse who won important races in France including the French Derby and was a Champion sire.Val de Loir stood at Haras de Sassy in Saint-Christophe-le-Jajolet in Lower Normandy...

 and Match II

Match II

Match II was a French Thoroughbred racehorse who won major races in England, France and the United States and who was voted Horse of the Year in England...

 were prominent, Exbury began to show some of his ability, winning two conditions races

Conditions races

Conditions races are horse races where the weights carried by the runners are laid down by the conditions attached to the race. Weights are allocated according to; the sex of the runners, with female runners carrying less weight than males; the age of the runners, with younger horses receiving...

 and finishing second to Match II in the important Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud

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 age four Exbury came into his own, winning all five of his 1963 starts, beating many of the best in France and in England. The National Horseracing Museum

National Horseracing Museum

The National Horseracing Museum of the United Kingdom is located at 99 High Street in Newmarket. Open to the public, it contains collections and records of people and horses involved in the sport of horse racing from its Royal origins to modern heroes...

 called Exbury "the best middle distance horse in Europe in 1963." That year, Exbury won the Prix Boïard

Prix Exbury

The Prix Exbury is a Group 3 flat horse race in France which is open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Saint-Cloud over a distance of 2,000 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in March.-History:...

, then beat Val de Loir

Val de Loir

Val de Loir was a French Thoroughbred racehorse who won important races in France including the French Derby and was a Champion sire.Val de Loir stood at Haras de Sassy in Saint-Christophe-le-Jajolet in Lower Normandy...

 by four lengths in winning the Prix Ganay

Prix Ganay

The Prix Ganay is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,100 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late April or early May....

. In England he won the Coronation Cup

Coronation Cup

The Coronation Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 10 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in June....

 by six lengths then back in France beat Val de Loir again in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and capped off the year with a victory in France's most prestigious horse race, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year, usually on the first Sunday in October.Popularly referred to as the...

.
Including Exbury, horses owned by Guy de Rothschild won the Prix Boiard at Hippodrome de Saint-Cloud six times. In 1969, France Galop

France Galop

France Galop is the governing body of flat and steeplechase horse racing in France. It was founded on May 3, 1995 as the result of the amalgamation of four different industry organizations...

 renamed the race in Exbury's honor.

Stud record

Exbury was retired to Haras de Meautry stud

Horse breeding

Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...

 in Calvados, France at the end of the 1963 campaign. He enjoyed reasonable success as a sire

Father

A father, Pop, Dad, or Papa, is defined as a male parent of any type of offspring. The adjective "paternal" refers to father, parallel to "maternal" for mother...

, producing several stakes/conditions race winners. Most prominent among them was Crow whose victories include the St. Leger Stakes

St. Leger Stakes

The St. Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 132 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.Established in 1776, the St. Leger...

, Coronation Cup

Coronation Cup

The Coronation Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 10 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in June....

 (both G1) and the Prix Eugène Adam

Prix Eugène Adam

The Prix Eugène Adam is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Maisons-Laffitte over a distance of 2,000 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in July.-History:...

. His German-bred son Ataxerxes won the Preis von Europa (G1). Another Exbury son, Madison Palace, won conditions/stakes races in France and California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 and the Exbury filly

Filly

A filly is a young female horse too young to be called a mare. There are several specific definitions in use.*In most cases filly is a female horse under the age of four years old....

Example won conditions races in France and England. His son, Zamazaan, was exported to New Zealand where he sired 58 stakeswinners for 123 stakeswins.
Another son, Calshot Light (GB) was exported to Australia where sired 23 live foals, but no stakeswinners.