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More than 20 horses lose lives at base used by relative of Cheltenham hero

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More than 20 horses lose lives at base used by relative of Cheltenham hero

The Normandy farm is where the brother of Cheltenham Festival stars Douvan and Jonbon, Herostar stands as a stallion – and he was unaffected

Herostar, the brother of Cheltenham Festival stars Douvan (pictured) and Jonbon, trains at the base(PA)

  • By

    Jon Lees

More than 20 mares and foals have perished in a blaze at a French stud farm.

The Haras de Barnesq in Normandy is the base of the stallion Herostar, the brother of Cheltenham Festival stars Douvan and Jonbon.

On Sunday a blaze broke out in a barn during the early hours of Sunday morning at Haras de Barnesq, near Bayeux, owned by Belgian owner and breeder Jose Lardot.

Lardot brought Herostar to the farm after teaming up with former Nicky Henderson jockey Jerry McGrath and bloodstock agent Toby Jones. Herostar was not affected by the blaze but one member of staff went to hospital with burns.

Estimates of the number of deaths from the blaze, which is being investigated by police, vary between 20 and 50.

Jones told Jour de Galop, “All this is all the sadder as these are pregnant mares that had just been brought indoors due to bad weather. Shortly before, they were outside.

“An electrical problem is believed to be the cause of the fire in this wooden building in good condition. The floor was covered with rubber mats which generated a lot of smoke. Insurers and experts are currently working on site with Mr. Lardot.

“For all of us, this is very hard to accept. On the one hand, because no one wants to see horses die like this. On the other hand, because it is a huge blow to our common breeding project.

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