My Miss Aurelia another star in the making for Stonestreet

My Miss Aurelia won the Frizette in a hand ride (NYRA/Adam Coglianese) Owner Barbara Banke knows something about talented fillies. It was just two years ago that she and her late husband, Jess Jackson, along with Harold McCormick, campaigned three-year-old Rachel Alexandra to four consecutive Grade 1 victories, including three against males, en route to Horse of the Year honors. This year, Banke finds herself with a special two-year-old, the morning-line favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, My Miss Aurelia, whom she co-owns with George Bolton. The undefeated Smart Strike filly was bred by and runs in the burgundy and gold colors of Stonestreet Stables, Banke and Jackson’s nom de course, and is named for Bolton’s mother, Aurelia. “The fillies, especially those ‘special fillies,’ have a unique combination of fire and grace that you don’t see in other equine athletes,” Banke said. “When you see them competing in top form, it’s like catching lightning in a bottle. There’s nothing like it.” To date, My Miss Aurelia has provided plenty of thrills, kicking clear to break her maiden by a length at Saratoga Race Course on opening day, and in her next start, prevailing by a neck after a stretch duel in the Grade 2 Adirondack Stakes on August 14.

For Banke, the filly’s most memorable race was her most recent start, in
Belmont Park’s Grade 1 Frizette on October 8. Pressed throughout the early
going, My Miss Aurelia drew well clear through the stretch to win under a hand
ride.

“When she won by 5 1/2 lengths, we knew we had something really special on
our hands,” Banke recalled.

While her Frizette victory may have proved it, there were signs from the
start that My Miss Aurelia could be a star in the making. Out of the Sea of
Secrets mare My Miss Storm Cat, she brought $550,000 at the Keeneland September
Yearling Sale in 2010. The buyer was George Bolton, who had previously partnered
with Stonestreet on another Smart Strike offspring — two-time Horse of the Year
Curlin.

“We certainly had no plans to sell Miss Aurelia to George, but were thrilled
that he was interested, and even more so when he eventually became the buyer,”
Banke said. “George knows horses like no one else, and having him purchase her
was a stamp of approval, of sorts.”

A new partnership was forged, with Stonestreet retaining a 50 percent
interest in the filly. Because Aurelia Bolton had attended most of Curlin’s
races and was considered to be something of a lucky charm during his career, the
decision was made to name the filly in her honor. Bolton has attended all three
of her namesake’s races and will be present to watch her run at Churchill Downs
on Friday.

“Naming this horse in honor of Aurelia was a way to give tribute to a great
lady, and hopefully pass on some of that luck!” Banke said.

So far, it has worked. For Banke, returning to the Breeders’ Cup with a
Stonestreet homebred is especially meaningful following Jackson’s death in April
after a long battle with cancer.

“Jess was passionate about breeding,” she stated. “From the beginning, we set
up our stables to support breeding between the finest animals we could match. To
see the success of this philosophy in My Miss Aurelia is truly rewarding. Jess
had a feeling that she would be a great horse, and Jess had incredible
instincts.”