Lord Rothschild, co-owner and breeder of Nathaniel and Thistle Bird, dies at age of 87

Lord Rothschild, who co-owned such Group 1 luminaries as Nathaniel and Thistle Bird with his late wife Serena, has died at the age of 87. 

A major figure in banking and financial services as well as a generous benefactor in the art world, Jacob Rothschild became the fourth Baron Rothschild upon the death of his father in 1990.

In the mid-1990s Lady Rothschild's navy and yellow silks were associated with the Roger Charlton-trained Baron Ferdinand and Spout, while Beckhampton was also from where the homebred Thistle Bird was sent out to win the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh in 2014.

The family ran their breeding operation from Waddesdon Stud in Buckinghamshire – part of an estate Lord Rothschild transformed into a major visitor attraction in partnership with the National Trust and which houses an important collection of paintings, sculptures and decorative arts – and made two important broodmare purchases in the early years of the new century. 

In November 2006 Waddesdon paid a then world record 4.6 million guineas for Magical Romance, whose granddaughter Channel won the 2019 Prix de Diane at Chantilly.

John Gosden, William Buick and Lady Rothchild with Nathaniel after his victory in the EclipseCredit: Mark Cranham

The following year a daughter of Silver Hawk called Magnificient Style was acquired privately and was to transform the Rothschild fortunes on the track, courtesy of siblings Nathaniel – winner of both the King George and the Eclipse before retiring to stand at Newsells Park Stud – and Irish Oaks heroine Great Heavens. 

Both were trained by John Gosden, who also won the Rothschilds a Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf in 2009 with Pounced.

Lord Rothschild was never at the forefront of his family's racing exploits, leaving his wife and his son Nathaniel to drive Waddesdon forward. 

But the mark he left on the world of business and philanthropy was indelible, and the financial advice company he founded with Sir Mark Weinberg, St James's Place, has been the sponsor of the hunter chase at the Cheltenham Festival since 2016.