Jess’s Dream

He arrived a few days early on a Sunday afternoon, January 22, 2012, in the barn named Cabernet on Stonestreet’s Old Frankfort Pike property. Through a normal, healthy birth he delivered on the vision and dreams of the late Jess Jackson and brought a rebirth of hope to Barbara Banke, her children and racing fans.

Barbara, with her son Christopher by her side, announced his official name as “Jess’s Dream” in a ceremony at Saratoga on July 27, 2012.

The bay foal, sired by two-time Horse of the Year and top North American money-earner, Curlin, and born to Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra is symbolic embodiment of Jess’s dream to bring heroes back to racing, and then to take those champions and breed them. He is the only foal born of two Preakness and Woodward winners.

Jess’s Dream spent his first months accompanied in the fields and paddocks of Stonestreet’s broodmare farm by Rachel and her favorite paddock-mate, Hot Dixie Chick, as well as her colt, also by Curlin, named Union Jackson, who was born on February 7th. Both colts were weaned in mid-July as an intense heat wave broke.

While most foals stay right at their mother’s side, Jess’s Dream took up is own space from the first day he was turned out in the paddock. Before he was weaned Rachel and Jess’s Dream presented an interesting twist of affection and deep mutual respect that belied his youth and Rachel’s maiden voyage into motherhood, treating one another as peers rather than mother and son.

Jess’s Dream now resides at Stonestreet’s Yearling Division in Versailles, KY where he spends 22 hours a day in a field with eight other growing and developing yearlings. Yearling manager, Robert Turner, says, “He is very classy and has a lot of sense about himself. He has a big personality.”