What is "horse chestnut"

alt. 1 A species of trees of the genus ''Aesculus'', common in the temperate zones of both hemispheres. 2 The large nutlike seed of these trees, also known as a '''conker'''. n. 1 A species of trees of the genus ''Aesculus'', common in the temperate zones of both hemispheres. 2 The large nutlike seed of these trees, also known as a '''conker'''.

1. n. tree having palmate leaves and large clusters of white to red flowers followed by brown shiny inedible seeds [syn: buckeye, Aesculus hippocastanum]

2. the inedible nutlike seed of the horse chestnut [syn: buckeye, conker]

Horse chestnut may refer to:

• Horse-chestnut tree or Aesculus hippocastanum, a species of large deciduous tree
  • Horse chestnuts, Eurasian species of the genus Aesculus
• Horse Chestnut (horse), a South African Thoroughbred racehorse
• Chestnut (coat), a common coat color in horses
• Chestnut (horse anatomy), the callous on the leg of a horse

Horse Chestnut (foaled 19 August 1995) is a champion thoroughbred racehorse bred in South Africa by Harry F. Oppenheimer at his Mauritzfontein Stud in Kimberley. His sire is Fort Wood who, as of 2007, has sired ten Group One winners, including Dynasty, the 2003 South African Horse of the Year. Fort Wood is a son of the British champion sire, Sadler's Wells.

Horse Chestnut was raced by Oppenheimer and his wife, Bridget. The colt won the South African Triple Crown and was named both the Equus Award for Horse of the Year and Champion 3-year-old Colt at three. He ran 10 races, winning 9 and placing 3rd once. Some notable wins include the Group One J&B Metropolitan Stakes over 2000m by 8¼ lengths, the Group I South African Derby over 2450m by 10 lengths, and the Group I South African Classic over 1800m by 4 lengths.

Sent to race in the United States, he won the Grade III Broward Handicap at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida, over 1700m by five and a half lengths. During his preparation for the Grade I Donn Handicap, Horse Chestnut fractured a piece of his splint bone on his near foreleg, resulting in his early retirement from racing. The Oppenheimers subsequently sold the majority of shares in Horse Chestnut to Seth Hancock's Claiborne Farm in Kentucky, where he went to stud.

Some of Horse Chestnut's most notable offspring include Lucifer's Stone, Spanish Chestnut, Smart Enough, and Fete.

Horse Chestnut died on 19 February 2015 in his stall at Drakenstein Stud in South Africa. Autopsy revealed that heart failure was the cause of his death.