Stonestreet Goes to $1.2M for Medaglia d'Oro Filly

Barbara Banke's Stonestreet Stables has enjoyed remarkable luck with fillies by Medaglia d'Oro , the Darley stallion who sired the operation's 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra, among others.

So it wasn't totally surprising when Banke went to $1.2 million to take home a Medaglia d'Oro filly (Hip 9) from Niall Brennan Stables' consignment early at the March 28 Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale.

Bred in Kentucky by Don Alberto Corporation and purchased by Hades Stable for $200,000 from Gainesway at the 2017 Keeneland September yearling sale, the filly was produced from the stakes-placed Distorted Humor  mare Mi Vida. The filly's second dam, the stakes-winning A.P. Indy mare Crystal Current, is a daughter of multiple grade 1 winner Dream Supreme, also the dam of grade 1 winner and sire Majestic Warrior.

"I've had really good luck with Medaglia d'Oro fillies," Banke said, adding she was pushed on the price. "I love them to race and as broodmares. I knew it was going to be (at least) $1 million. There were a lot of horses that didn't make it through the process and vet. This was our pick. We came and did it early, and now I'm going to have an iced tea."

Although the filly was bought for Stonestreet, Banke said there was a possibility LNJ Foxwoods, which was among the bidders on the filly, might join her in ownership.

The filly breezed an eighth-mile in the co-fastest under tack show time of :10.

"She prepped really fast and came back and worked as good as she prepped," bloodstock agent John Moynihan said. "We've had really good luck with Medaglia d'Oro fillies. That is a lot that added up there... we decided to take a swing, and hope we're right."

"She's a beautiful filly with a real pedigree," Brennan said. "She was unbelievable on the racetrack. We knew everybody loved her and she was very popular. She was just like a machine on the racetrack. She jumped through all the hoops, as they say. I didn't know how much she would bring. You never really know if they will bring $1 million or more. We're delighted for them and hope she is a very good filly for them and a broodmare down the road."