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Serena Mary Rothschild, Baroness Rothschild (née Serena Mary Dunn; 28 April 1934 – 13 January 2019) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse owner and the wife of Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild.

Early life

Rothschild was born in 1934, the eldest child of Sir Philip Gordon Dunn, Bt., and Lady Mary Sybil St. Clair-Erskine (daughter of James St Clair-Erskine, 5th Earl of Rosslyn). Her sister is the writer Nell Dunn. Her paternal grandfather was Sir James Dunn, Bt., a prominent Canadian industrialist. Her parents divorced in 1944 and remarried each other in 1969.

Thoroughbred racing

Rothschild oversaw the management of Waddesdon Stud at Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire. In November 2006, she paid 3 million guineas for the mare Spinning Queen, then a world record price (for a filly or broodmare) of 4.6 million guineas when she purchased Magical Romance at the Tattersalls sale.

In 2009, her colt Pounced, trained by John Gosden and ridden by Frankie Dettori, won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. In 2011, her colt Nathaniel won the King Edward VII Stakes (G2) at Ascot and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1), also at Ascot. In 2012, she won the Eclipse Stakes (G1) with Nathaniel, The Lancashire Oaks (G2), and then the Irish Oaks (Classic G1) with Great Heavens.

Personal life

On 20 October 1961, she married financier Jacob Rothschild, with whom she had four children, Hannah (b. 1962), Beth (b. 1964), Emily (b. 1967), and Nathaniel (b. 1971).

The couple made their home at Pewsey, Wiltshire, and maintained a villa on the Greek island of Corfu. She and her husband were involved in a number of charitable and humanitarian organisations, and she was a Vice President of the Wiltshire Blind Association.

Lady Rothschild died in a London hospital on 13 January 2019 following a short illness. She was 84.

References

1. England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916–2007
2. "Obituary: Sir Philip Dunn". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 22 June 1976. p. 16.
3. "The Rothschilds' racing heritage".
4. Rushmer., Tony. "Magical Romance sold for 4.6m gns".
5. The Rothschild Foster Trust: "The descendants of Charles Rothschild" Archived 2012-09-07 at the Wayback Machine retrieved September 27, 2012
6. "Javier Barba | BC Arquitectos | Green Architecture". bcestudioarchitects.com.
7. "Wiltshire Blind Association, President, Officers, Patrons and Members". 9 October 2011. Archived from the original on 9 October 2011.
8. "Nathaniel owner Lady Rothschild dies aged 83". Sporting Life. 13 January 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.

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