Barbara Banke of Stonestreet Stables and Kentucky-based bloodstock
consultant John Moynihan tried to buy Darwin (by Big Brown) at the Fasig-Tipton
Florida select sale of 2-year-olds in training earlier this year. But Demi O'Byrne
won the bidding battle, getting the handsome colt for the sale-topping price of
$1.3 million.
Darwin made his career debut Oct. 6, winning by two
lengths in a six-furlong race at Belmont Park. Meanwhile, a horse that
Stonestreet did get at the Fasig-Tipton Florida auction, Kauai Katie, has been
compiling a 3-0 record that makes her an exciting candidate for Eclipse Award
honors as the Breeders' Cup World Championships approach. After breaking her
maiden by an eye-popping 12 lengths in her career debut in July at Saratoga,
she captured the Adirondack Stakes by 2 ¾ lengths at Saratoga and the Matron
Stakes (gr. II) by 7 ½ lengths at Belmont Park. The Adirondack, at 6 ½ furlongs,
was the longest event in the win streak.
Prior to the Fasig-Tipton Florida sale, Kauai Katie
worked an eighth of a mile in :10, which was the fastest time for that distance
during the Palm Meadows Training Center under tack show. Eddie Woods, agent,
consigned her to the auction. Grady Equine had bought the daughter of Malibu
Moon for $90,000 from Warrendale Sales, agent for Spendthrift Farm, at the 2011
Keenelnd September yearling sale.
"She was a beautiful filly, and she worked fast and
came back great," Moynihan said. "We had seen her prep at the farm and she was
just one of the ones that we kind of zeroed in on down there. She was really,
really stout with a tremendous body; she looked like she would be extremely fast.
We bought her kind of to be early and fast, and that's what she's turned out to
be."
Kauai Katie has earned $288,000 so far during her
juvenile campaign while being ridden by Rosie Napravnik and being conditioned
by multiple Eclipse Award-winning trainer Todd Pletcher.
"I'm sure Todd is going to explore (eventually) the
idea of whether he wants to keep her sprinting or maybe try to stretch her out
a little bit," Moynihan said. "She's just so good sprinting and of course we
have the other (2-year-old) filly, Dreaming of Julia, so it makes the decision
a little bit easier to keep her doing what we know she can do effectively. But
that's not to say we won't ever stretch her out. The way she's bred, she could
run two turns. She's probably one of the best-looking Malibu Moons that I've
ever seen."
Kauai Katie's stablemate Dreaming of Julia (by A.P.
Indy) also has a 3-0 record, with the Stonestreet homebred's efforts including
triumphs in the Meadow Star and Frizette (gr. I) stakes. Another stablemate, Stonestreet
homebred My Miss Aurelia (by Smart Strike), was last year's champion 2-year-old
filly, when she won the Grey Goose Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (gr. I),
Frizette, and Adirondack. This year, My Miss Aurelia has won both of her races,
the Mandys Gold and Cotillion (gr. I) stakes.
"My Miss Aurelia is probably in a league of her own
from a physical standpoint,: Moynihan said. "She's undoubtedly the best-looking
Smart Strike filly that I've ever seen."
My Miss Aurelia is out of My Miss Storm Cat (by
Sea of Secrets), who captured the 2006 Desert Stormer Handicap and finished third in
the 2004 Landaluce Stakes (gr. III).
Moynihan purchased My Miss Storm Cat for $70,000 for
the Ed and Natalie Friendly Trust at the 2003 Keeneland September sale. In
2007, after her racing career had ended, the late Jess Jackson of Stonestreet
bought My Miss Storm Cat for $925,000 from Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent, at the
Keeneland November breeding stock sale. She was in foal to Unbridled's Song at
the time.
My Miss Storm Cat "was gorgeous," Moynihan said. "When
Ed Friendly sold her, Ed and Jess were good friends and Jess bought her. She
was one of the fastest fillies I had ever bought. I've bought fillies that have
won grade I sprint races like the Prioress and the Test, and My Miss Storm Cat
was in that league. She was rocket fast. But she was always plagued by quarter
cracks, so she never really got there (to the grade I level)."
