section_path: Business activities/Thoroughbred horse racing
section_name: Thoroughbred horse racing
paragraph_text: Thoroughbred horse racing
  
  Al-Husseini's racing horse businesses brought in considerable income. He owned and operated the largest horse racing and breeding operation in France, the French horse auction house, Arqana, Gilltown Stud near Kilcullen in Ireland, and other breeding/stud farms in Europe.
  
  He operated a large horse racing and breeding operation at his estate Aiglemont, in the town of Gouvieux in the Picardy region of France – about 4 kilometres (2 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles) west of the Chantilly Racecourse. In 1977, he paid £1.3 million for the bloodstock owned by Anna Dupré and in 1978, £4.7 million for the bloodstock of Marcel Boussac. He was said to be France's most influential owner-breeder and record winner of The Prix de Diane, sometimes referred to as the French Oaks.
  
  Al-Husseini owned Gilltown Stud near Kilcullen, Ireland, and the Haras de Bonneval breeding farm at Le Mesnil-Mauger in France. In March 2005, he purchased the Calvados stud farms, the Haras d'Ouilly in Pont-d'Ouilly and the Haras de Val-Henry in Livarot. Haras d'Ouilly had been owned by such horsemen as the Duc Decazes, François Dupré, and Jean-Luc Lagardère.
  
  In 2006, he became the majority shareholder of French horse auction house Arqana.
  
  On 27 October 2009 it was announced that Sea the Stars, regarded by many as one of the greatest racehorses of all time, would stand stud at his Gilltown Stud in Ireland.
  
  His unbeaten homebred filly, Zarkava, won the 2008 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. His homebred colt, Harzand, won the 2016 Epsom Derby and the 2016 Irish Derby.
  
  Al-Husseini was the lead owner of Shergar, the Irish racehorse that was kidnapped from Ballymany stud farm in County Kildare, Ireland, by masked men in 1983 and held for ransom. He and the other co-owners refused to pay a ransom, and the horse was not recovered. Following the abduction of Shergar in 1983, al-Husseini, law enforcement, and members of the public suspected the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), although the group denied involvement. In 1999, former IRA member Sean O'Callaghan claimed in his autobiography that the IRA had carried out the abduction. Shergar had become a prominent symbol in Ireland, and the incident prompted public backlash, including among individuals sympathetic to the republican cause.
  
  Al-Husseini's racing horse businesses brought in considerable income. He owned and operated the largest horse racing and breeding operation in France, the French horse auction house, Arqana, Gilltown Stud near Kilcullen in Ireland, and other breeding/stud farms in Europe.
  
  He operated a large horse racing and breeding operation at his estate Aiglemont, in the town of Gouvieux in the Picardy region of France – about 4 kilometres (2 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles) west of the Chantilly Racecourse. In 1977, he paid £1.3 million for the bloodstock owned by Anna Dupré and in 1978, £4.7 million for the bloodstock of Marcel Boussac. He was said to be France's most influential owner-breeder and record winner of The Prix de Diane, sometimes referred to as the French Oaks.
  
  Al-Husseini owned Gilltown Stud near Kilcullen, Ireland, and the Haras de Bonneval breeding farm at Le Mesnil-Mauger in France. In March 2005, he purchased the Calvados stud farms, the Haras d'Ouilly in Pont-d'Ouilly and the Haras de Val-Henry in Livarot. Haras d'Ouilly had been owned by such horsemen as the Duc Decazes, François Dupré, and Jean-Luc Lagardère.
  
  In 2006, he became the majority shareholder of French horse auction house Arqana.
  
  On 27 October 2009 it was announced that Sea the Stars, regarded by many as one of the greatest racehorses of all time, would stand stud at his Gilltown Stud in Ireland.
  
  His unbeaten homebred filly, Zarkava, won the 2008 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. His homebred colt, Harzand, won the 2016 Epsom Derby and the 2016 Irish Derby.
  
  Al-Husseini was the lead owner of Shergar, the Irish racehorse that was kidnapped from Ballymany stud farm in County Kildare, Ireland, by masked men in 1983 and held for ransom. He and the other co-owners refused to pay a ransom, and the horse was not recovered. Following the abduction of Shergar in 1983, al-Husseini, law enforcement, and members of the public suspected the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), although the group denied involvement. In 1999, former IRA member Sean O'Callaghan claimed in his autobiography that the IRA had carried out the abduction. Shergar had become a prominent symbol in Ireland, and the incident prompted public backlash, including among individuals sympathetic to the republican cause.