Six Thoroughbreds died in barn fire at Woodford County farm once owned by Saudi royalty
VERSAILLES — A blaze Wednesday morning at Chanteclair Farm destroyed two barns and killed six Thoroughbred horses, according to the Woodford County fire chief.
The cause was not immediately known after a preliminary investigation, Fire Chief John Varner said.
"We haven't come up with anything definite," Varner said. "It will probably be next week before we can come up with something to tell anybody."
Equipment to lift heavy metal doors from the barns will have to be brought to the farm north of Versailles, he said.
The fire was reported shortly after 6 a.m. One wooden barn housed horses and the other contained hay.
"When we got on the scene, one barn was already on the ground," Varner said. "That's the barn that had the horses in it. The heat off it set another barn on fire behind it. It didn't have any horses in it."
A third barn, made of concrete block and containing chemicals and propane tanks, did not catch fire, Varner said. "We put water on it and kept it cool," he said.
Diesel fuel and gasoline stored near the second barn did not ignite, he said.
The two barns that were destroyed were 40 to 50 feet apart, Varner said.
The closest hydrant on Midway Road was 3 miles away, so trucks shuttled water from that hydrant, Varner said.
John Moores, former owner of the San Diego Padres baseball team, and partner Charles Noell bought the farm in 2013, according to several industry publications. The two also bought about 30 Thoroughbreds in Ireland to jump-start their farms. In addition, the two bought the former Stonewall Farm in Midway.
Chanteclair Farm was formed by the late Prince Saud bin Khaled in 1995 with the purchase of a 260-acre farm.
The Chanteclair broodmare band became one of the most heralded in the Thoroughbred industry, breeding 30 stakes horses from 137 starters foaled at the farm.
Included in that group of notable performers was champion Royal Delta, who was foaled and raised at Chanteclair. Royal Delta won three Eclipse Awards and was named champion 3-year-old filly in 2011 and champion older female in 2012 and 2013. She was bought by Ben Leon for $8.5 million at the 2011 Keeneland November Breeding Stock sale.
Royal Delta was part of a dispersal of the farm's Thoroughbred broodmares, weanlings and racing stock conducted by Prince Khaled's estate at the 2011 Keeneland November sale. Delta Princess, the dam of Royal Delta, was bought for $2.6 million by Adena Springs out of the dispersal and Crown Queen, winner of 2014 Grade I Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Keeneland, was also bought by Leon for $1.6 million at the sale.
Other top horses that represented Chanteclair include 2010 Group I Gran Criterium winner Biondetti; 2003 Hollywood Turf Cup winner Continuously; 1999 Mother Goose winner Dreams Gallore; 2003 Garden City Breeders' Cup winner Indy Five Hundred and 2007 Gazelle winner Lear's Princess.
Chanteclair, in partnership with Karen Woods, also bred and raced 2008 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Maram.
This story was originally published February 25, 2015 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Six Thoroughbreds died in barn fire at Woodford County farm once owned by Saudi royalty."