Medaglia d'Oro wraps up strong juvenile auction season

Medaglia d’Oro is coming off a solid juvenile auction season, as he is responsible for three of the five seven-figure juveniles sold this spring in North America.

The Darley stallion sired a $1.2 million filly who co-led the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale; a $1.2 million colt who topped the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale; and a $1.1 million filly who topped the OBS March sale.

Barbara Banke’s Stonestreet Stables struck first, buying the filly at the Gulfstream sale. Bred in Kentucky by Don Alberto Corp., she is out of the stakes-placed Distorted Humor mare Mi Vida and from the family of Grade 1 winners Majestic Warrior, Dream Supreme, and Spinning Round.

The purchase was familiar territory for the Stonestreet operation, which campaigned the Medaglia d’Oro filly Rachel Alexandra to Horse of the Year honors in 2009.

“I like Medaglia d’Oro fillies,” Banke said. “I’ve had very good luck with them . . . I love them to race, and I love them as broodmares.”

The still-unnamed Gulfstream purchase has joined Banke’s other young stock at the Stonestreet Training Center in Summerfield, Fla.

The Fasig Midlantic-topping colt was purchased by Dennis O’Neill on behalf of Phoenix Thoroughbreds, and is being trained by the bloodstock agent’s brother Doug O’Neill in California. The colt has been named Lebron J, after the basketball star.

The commercial popularity of the Medaglia d’Oro colt’s family had already been ably demonstrated by dam Tapicat, who won the Grade 3 Florida Oaks and placed in two Grade 2 stakes. A Tapit mare, Tapicat had been a $725,000 yearling and sold for $2.2 million at the 2016 Keeneland November breeding stock sale. Earlier that year, she had produced this Medaglia d’Oro colt, bred by Three Chimneys Farm and Besilu Stables.

Tapicat’s dam is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Pohave. Her third dam is champion Track Robbery, whose foals include multiple graded stakes winner Train Robbery, dam of Breeders’ Cup Classic winner and $3.9 million earner Cat Thief.

Bloodstock agent Steven Young landed the winning bid on the OBS March-topping filly, who has been named Italia. She is out of the placed Carson City mare Wilshewed, whose seven winners from nine foals to race include Grade 1 winner Stormello, Grade 2 winner My Best Brother, Grade 3 winner Gala Award, Grade 1-placed Cherry Lodge, and Grade 3-placed Greatest Game. Wilshewed is also the dam of stakes producers Atlantic Voyage and Ever So Pretty.