Stonewall owner looks to sell Leroidesanimaux

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The owner of Stonewall Farm, Audrey Haisfield, is seeking a bankruptcy court’s approval to sell Stonewall’s 92-percent interest in champion Leroidesanimaux to an entity managed by her son, Marc.

Under the agreement, Palm Beach Stallions I, managed by Marc Haisfield, would pay $715,000 for the interest in Leroidesanimaux, a 10-year-old Candy Stripes stallion. The Stonewall entity that owns the interest, Stonewall Farm Stallions I, filed for bankruptcy in Kentucky earlier this year and has pledged to turn over $650,000 of the proceeds from Leroidesanimaux’s sale to a creditor, Chase Bank, according to the proposed agreement.

In return, Chase will drop its lien on the stallion but will retain an interest in his income from 2010 and earlier.

In August, a Fayette Circuit Court judge ordered Haisfield and her son to pay more than $14.7 million to Fifth Third Bank, which had sued over loan defaults.

If approved, the deal would keep Leroidesanimaux at Stonewall Farm Ocala in Florida, which is advertising him with a $7,500 fee for 2011. The proposed purchase agreement calls for Leroidesanimaux to stand at the Florida farm through the 2013 breeding season.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Eastern District of Kentucky must approve the deal and has scheduled a hearing on the matter for Friday.

In court documents filed Nov. 9 on Stonewall’s behalf, attorney John Hamilton describes Leroidesanimaux as one of the operation’s “primary assets” and noted that his sale “will generate significant cash to reduce the outstanding secured claim of Chase Bank, who holds a first lien on the estate’s interest in the stallion. . . . At the conclusion of the sale, the debtor will still have significant assets including accounts receivable, the Thoroughbred stallion A. P. Warrior, and stud fee receivables which are subject to pending litigation between the debtor, Fifth Third Bank, and Chase Bank with which to continue the reorganization of the debtor entities.”

Earlier this year, Chase Bank sued Stonewall and various related Haisfield-managed entities for about $7 million, and a third lender, Stone Wall Acquisition, received a $16 million judgment in Pennsylvania against various Stonewall entities. The operation’s Midway Farm is on the market, and Haisfield relocated the remaining stallions to the Ocala farm, which is hosting an open house on Dec. 4-5 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Stonewall Ocala stands A. P. Warrior, Da Stoops, Doneraile Court, Frisco Star, It’s No Joke, Leroidesanimaux, Spellbinder, Strong Contender, Unforgettable Max, and Value Plus.