Fasig-Tipton Photos
Fasig-Tipton held its blockbuster November Sale of breeding stock Sunday night, and its biggest star will be returning to a familiar barn in the morning. Lady Aurelia, a 4-year-old Scat Daddy filly offered as Hip 200 by Hill ‘n’ Dale Sales Agency, dropped the hammer at $7.5 million and was purchased by Barbara Banke of Stonestreet Farm, one of her co-owners before stepping into the ring.
Lady Aurelia was bred by Stonestreet and sold for $350,000 as a yearling to Peter Leidel and George Bolton. Banke approached them before the filly’s first race and bought a share of her. Bolton later left the partnership, and she was campaigned most recently by Banke and Leidel. In her racing career, the Wesley Ward-trained filly proved her talents in multiple countries, winning her first race at Keeneland before picking up graded stakes victories in England and France. She came back stateside for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint last year but finished a disappointing tenth.
Barbara Banke
Some owners are interested only in racing, while others like Banke have both horses in training and a significant broodmare band. Banke was interested in adding the filly to her broodmare band, but Leidel was not.
So why send the mare through the ring? Banke told the Paulick Report earlier this year it was a matter of fairness; without offering the market a chance to bid on the horse, it would be hard to know the current fair-market value of Leidel’s shares of the horse. Banke said in September she was open to selling the horse to a third party, though she did not disclose the budget it would take to make that happen.
Depending upon what percentages Banke and Leidel each had (which is not a matter of public record), Banke likely ended up paying considerably less than $7.5 million to buy out the remaining shares in the horse, given her status as co-owner going into the sale.
Banke’s Stonestreet operation has enjoyed considerable success since she took over. Stonestreet was launched by her late husband, Jess Jackson of Kendall-Jackson Wines. Jackson established his racing operation in 2005 and campaigned Horse of the Year Curlin, followed by super filly and Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra, who captured the nation’s imagination when she became the first filly to win the Preakness in 85 years.
Jackson died in 2011 at the age of 81. Rather than disperse the operation, which was worth a considerable sum at the time, Banke chose to carry it forward with her own style. In the seven years since, she has added considerably to the farm’s broodmare band, taken on partnerships in active racehorses and expanded the Stonestreet vision to include a focus on international racing and breeding stock. The farm’s business model calls for breeding successful runners, and retaining the mares and standing stallions at stud off-site, where they will be supported by the Stonestreet broodmare band. Aftercare is also central to the organization’s mission, as the majority of its less successful horses go through accredited retraining and adoption facilities.
The commercial approach appears to be working so far: last year, the farm was top breeder by sales receipts for the sixth time since 2007, according to its website. On the track, Stonestreet has produced winners of more than 100 stakes races.
Fasig-Tipton Photo
Though Stonestreet originated as Jackson’s enterprise, it’s now clear Banke stands on her own and is highly respected in the industry as a result. She is on the board of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders’ Association, the Breeders’ Cup and a Steward of the Jockey Club.
In total Sunday night, there were 22 horses selling for $1 million or more. After Lady Aurelia, the next-highest price was Stopchargingmaria at $4.4 million. The multiple graded stakes winner appeared at the same sale in 2016, when she went for $2.8 million to Three Chimneys Farm. This evening’s purchase was made by Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm, so often the buyer on top-priced broodmares. Stopchargingmaria sold in foal to Tapit, easily the most commercially appealing stallion on the market today.
Overall, numbers were strong for this edition of the sale. Total receipts and median were up. Total sales added to $89,473,000, a 21 percent increase and setting a new record. The median of $327,500 was up 31 percent. The average price was down slightly to $639,093.
The return rate increased from roughly 18 percent last year to 27 percent this year, indicating sellers’ expectations slightly higher than buyers’ willingness.
Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning said two high-priced race mares last year had made it a challenge to achieve similar numbers this year.
“Somebody told me a year ago looking forward to 2018 we didn’t have a $9.5 million Songbird and a $8 million Tepin when we started the recruiting part and I was scratching my head saying, ‘We’ve got to replace $17 million,’” Browning said. “To achieve the growth we did is pretty remarkable.”
Keeneland begins its November auction of bloodstock Monday afternoon and continues through Nov. 16.