Jess’s Dream, son of Horses of the Year Curlin & Rachel Alexandra, retires to Ocala Stud
Thursday, December 22, 2016
Jess’s Dream, the son of Horses of the Year Curlin and Rachel Alexandra, has been retired to J. Michael O’Farrell’s Ocala Stud in Ocala, FL where he’ll stand in 2017 for a fee of $5,000 stands and nurses.

“Jess’s Dream is a special horse and the epitome of the Stonestreet brand and breeding program,” said Stonestreet owner Barbara Banke. “He’s by Horse of the Year and top sire Curlin, out of Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra, whose only other foal is our Grade 1 winner Rachel’s Valentina. Jess’s Dream’s maiden victory at Saratoga was one of the most-talked-about performances that year. He was tremendously talented, and we expected him to be a Grade 1 winner like everything else in the family.

“Ocala Stud does a fantastic job of developing top sires in Florida, and we are committed to giving Jess’s Dream the support needed to make him a successful sire,” she added.

Jess’s Dream has been in the spotlight since long before he was born. The dark bay colt was fittingly named after late owner Jess Jackson and his dream of breeding Stonestreet’s Horses of the Year Curlin and Rachel Alexandra to each other. 

Curlin was Stonestreet’s first champion, winning Horse of the Year honors in back-to-back years in 2007 and 2008 as a 3-year-old and 4-year-old, respectively. Rachel Alexandra gave Stonestreet three straight Horse of the Year honorees in 2009, becoming the first 3-year-old filly to do so since the creation of the Eclipse Awards in 1971. Curlin and Rachel Alexandra won 12 Grade 1 races combined, and both captured the Preakness Stakes (G1) at three, making Jess’s Dream the only horse in the world that is the son of two American Classic winners.

Trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, Jess’s Dream delivered on his pedigree, breaking his maiden impressively in his debut at Saratoga. He earned a 90 Beyer Speed Figure for the performance, and was recognized as a TDN Rising Star by the Thoroughbred Daily News.

“Jess’s Dream truly had unlimited potential,” said McLaughlin. “He ran as good as a horse could run first-time out at Saratoga, and there’s no question he had top-class talent. We certainly didn’t see the best of him. The sky was the limit.”

Jess’s Dream is the first foal out of Medaglia d’Oro’s champion race mare Rachel Alexandra, whose only other offspring to race is Grade 1 winner Rachel’s Valentina, by Bernardini. Jess’s Dream’s sire Curlin is an emerging leading sire in North America, and is tied with Tapit in 2016 with five Grade 1 winners. Curlin’s sons at stud already include Classic winners Palace Malice and Exaggerator. 

“We’ve been standing stallions for a long time, and there hasn’t been a better-pedigreed horse in Florida than Jess’s Dream,” said O’Farrell. “We are grateful to Stonestreet for the opportunity to stand another exciting stallion prospect. They have one of the best operations in the entire industry, and they do a fantastic job of supporting their stallions. We’ve had tremendous fortune together with Kantharos and making him into a leading sire, and I’m confident we’ll have success with Jess’s Dream. Breeders are going to like him when they come out to see him.”

Jess’s Dream is now available for inspection at Ocala Stud. For more information about Jess’s Dream or to set up an inspection appointment, please contact David or Joe O’Farrell at 352-237-2171, or visit OcalaStud.com.

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