Serena Dunn Rothschild

Serena Mary Dunn Rothschild, Lady Rothschild (née Serena Mary Dunn; born on 28 April 1935), is the wife of Lord Rothschild and a successful Thoroughbred racehorse owner and philanthropist.

Early life

Lady Rothschild was born as Serena Mary Dunn as the daughter of Sir Philip Gordon Dunn, Bt. and Lady Mary Sybil St. Clair-Erskine. Her sister is the writer Nell Dunn. Her paternal grandfather was Sir James Dunn, Bt., a prominent Canadian financier.

Thoroughbred racing

Rothschild oversees the management of Waddesdon Stud at Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire.^[1] In November 2006 she paid 3 million guineas for the mare Spinning Queen then a world record price of 4.6 million guineas for a filly or broodmare when she purchased Magical Romance at the Tattersalls sale.^[2]

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 most recently the Irish Oaks (Classic G1) with Great Heavens.

Personal life

On October 20, 1961, Dunn married financier Jacob Rothschild with whom she has four children:^[3]

• Hannah Mary Rothschild Brookfield (b. 1962) - Hannah married William Lord Brookfield (b. 1959). They have three children:
  • Nell Tomoka (b. 1994),
  • Clemency Ruth (b. 1997), and
  • Mary Esther Rose (b. 1998).^[3]
• Beth Matilda Rothschild Tomassini (b. 1964) - Beth married Antonio Tomassini (b. 1959). They have three children:
  • Jacob Ferdinando Fulvio (b. 1992),
  • Edoardo Philip James (b. 1994), and
  • Tess (b. 1996).^[3]
• Emily "Emmy" Magda Rothschild Freeman-Attwood (b. 1967) - Emily married Julian David Warren Freeman-Attwood (b. 1953). They have two children:
  • Ivy Antarctica (b. 1999) and
  • Lily Tibet (b. 2002).^[3]
• Nathaniel Philip Victor James (b. 1971).^[3]

The couple make their home at Marlborough, Wiltshire and maintain a villa on the Greek island of Corfu. She and her husband are involved in a number of charitable and humanitarian organizations and she is a Vice President of the Wiltshire Blind Association.

References

• The Oxford Times June 2009, 2009 article titled "The Rothschilds' racing heritage"