Miesque

Miesque is a champion thoroughbred filly race horse best known as the first horse to win two Breeders' Cup Championships back-to-back.

She was sired by Nureyev, (by Northern Dancer) from Pasadoble, by Prove Out. Miesque was owned by Greek shipping tycoon Stavros Niarchos, and did most of her racing in Europe. Stabled in France and trained by François Boutin, Miesque won three of her four races as a two year old, including two Grade 1 Stakes Races and was voted the 1986 Champion Two-year-old filly in France.

Under jockey Freddy Head, at age three Miesque won the 1,000 Guineas in England and the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (the French 1,000 Guineas). Miesque achieved international stardom when she defeated a talented field of mostly male horses in the prestigious 1987 Breeders' Cup Mile, in the process setting a Hollywood Park track record. Her powerful performance earned her the 1987 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Female Turf Horse plus she was named Champion three-year-old Filly and Champion Miler in both France and England.

The following year, Miesque raced only four times, winning three and finishing second once. She returned to the U.S. to defend her Breeders Cup title at Churchill Downs in Kentucky and once again was up against a very strong field of older males including Belmont Stakes winner Bet Twice and the Daniel Wildenstein-owned champion, Steinlen. Despite the fierce competition, the filly won the race by four lengths, making her the first ever back-to-back winner in Breeders Cup history. The performance earned her a second straight Eclipse Award for Outstanding Female Turf Horse for 1988 and she was again voted France's Champion Miler of the year plus was named that country's Champion Older Mare.

Miesque retired after the 1988 season. Of her sixteen lifetime races, the filly won twelve, finished second three times, and third once. She has been a successful broodmare at the Niarchos farm in Kentucky, producing several stakes winners with sires such as Mr. Prospector. Miesque's offspring include:

• Kingmambo - winner of the Poule d'Essai des Poulains, Prix du Moulin de Longchamp, Prix Djebel and St. James's Palace Stakes and a leading second crop sire in North America; sired Lemon Drop Kid, Henrythenavigator, El Condor Pasa (horse), and Divine Proportions.
• Miesque's Son - stakes winner and successful sire in the U.S.; sired Miesque's Approval, winner of the 2006 Sunshine Millions Turf and the Breeders' Cup Mile and voted the 2006 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Male Turf Horse. He was also voted 2006 Florida-bred Horse of the Year.
• East of the Moon - Champion 3 year old filly in France.

In the Blood-Horse magazine ranking of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century, Miesque was ranked #82. She was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1999.

The annual Prix Miesque at the Hippodrome in Maisons-Laffitte, Yvelines and the Miesque Stakes at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California are held in her honor.