Stonestreet Has Grand International Plans

With three Horse of the Year statues on its mantle and two Hall of Fame inductees in just 11 years in operation, it would seem that Stonestreet Stables has accomplished everything it has set its mind to when it comes to American racing. Stonestreet's Barbara Banke ticked another item off her wishlist earlier this year when notching a win at Royal Ascot with her brilliant homebred Lady Aurelia (Scat Daddy) in the G2 Queen Mary S. The Wesley Ward-trained 'TDN Rising Star', campaigned by Stonestreet Stables in partnership with George Bolton and Peter Leidel, returned to Europe to extend her unbeaten record in the G1 Prix Morny Aug. 21, and it seems that Europe's exposure to the Stonestreet red and gold silks is only going to increase.

“Definitely,” said Banke when asked if she would aim to have more runners at Royal Ascot. “I would love to repeat at Royal Ascot. I'm not sure I'm going to have that high level of experience again, but that was really fun. It was a fabulous day. I was entertained by Coolmore and the experience of being there was really exciting. It was fabulous.”

Banke added, “We've always had a goal to go to Royal Ascot, and when I bred Lady Aurelia, she looked like a very precocious filly, and certainly Wesley Ward has had success with 2-year-olds in Europe. So we thought, let's try it, and we were highly successful. That was very gratifying. We knew she was good but we didn't know she was that good. She seems to get better and better.”

Campaigning horses in partnership has been a common practice for Stonestreet, one of the earliest examples being the two-time Horse of the Year, Hall of Fame inductee and now prolific sire Curlin (Smart Strike). Banke–a wine executive and chairman and proprietor of Jackson Family Wines, which includes Kendall-Jackson and La Crema wineries–said buying horses in partnership is a matter of reducing risk.

“We've had a lot of luck with partnership horses, including Curlin, My Miss Aurelia, Lady Aurelia, Zulu; it's something that enables me to stay in on some colts I've bred, or purchase half of a colt or a third of a colt, and instead of purchasing one, you purchase three. It reduces your exposure to risk and everybody is happy if it turns out, and much less unhappy if it doesn't.”

Stonestreet has made a big splash this year buying expensive colts in partnership at public auction, in particular with Coolmore. The operations partnered at Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga Sale on colts by Pioneerof the Nile and Uncle Mo for $950,000 and $1.25-million, respectively, while at Fasig-Tipton's Florida Sale in March they teamed up for a $1-million Uncle Mo colt. Stonestreet and Coolmore also combined to buy a colt by The Factor for 350,000gns at the Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up sale in April. Named Fact Finding and sent to trainer Todd Pletcher in the U.S., the colt won a Saratoga maiden special weight at first asking Aug. 6. Stonestreet and Coolmore are also partners in the aforementioned Zulu (Bernardini), who was second in this year's GII Fountain of Youth S.

Does the partnership with Coolmore mean Stonestreet could have horses based in Europe in the future?

“I certainly hope so,” said Banke. “We purchased a really nice The Factor colt together in Europe, however we brought him to the States and he won in Saratoga, but I'd like to do that.”

Banke said the Stonestreet business plan includes sending more horses to Ward, who currently has two for the stable, as well as sending some youngsters by her own sires to race in Europe. She said she has been encouraged by the success of American-breds in Europe particularly this year.

“I've noticed a number of the animals that have been successful over there have American breeding, like our Lady Aurelia, or Caravaggio and Tepin. I think it's a tribute to our American breeding programs. I'm going to hope to take some horses from my stallions over there and see what we can do as well. That would include maybe Curlin or Kantharos; animals with a lot of speed.”

Lady Aurelia and the partnership with Coolmore has not been Stonestreet's first exposure to racing internationally. Stonestreet, through agent John Moynihan, has had a presence at the yearling sales in Australia the last few years, buying horses, again in partnership, with the likes of the China Horse Club and WinStar Farm. Stonestreet has also had racetrack success Down Under. Stonestreet spent A$900,000 on Group 1 winner Miracles of Life (Aus) (Not A Single Doubt {Aus}) at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale in 2014 and, placed in the care of trainers Peter and Paul Snowden, she closed out her career with a second Group 1 score in the G1 William Hill Classic in May 2015. She is due to produce her first foal this season, a Medaglia d'Oro, and Banke said her second mating is currently being decided.

Banke said it was her wine businesses that sparked her interest in pursuing racing Down Under.

“I wanted to see the Australian industry because racing seems to be very important in Australia,” she explained. “I have wineries down there and my wine maker and manager kept encouraging me to come down and look at the racing. I've been on the board of Breeders' Cup, Keeneland, and the Jockey Club, and once I went down there to the sale I was impressed by the calibre of racing and the attention that's paid to racing. Our first experience with getting Miracles of Life was fabulous.”

If, like the fine wines Banke has developed, Stonestreet Stables continues to get better with age, racing enthusiasts can expect to see the red and gold silks many more times in Group 1 winner's enclosures around the world.