Banks Hill

Banks Hill (foaled February 24, 1998 in England) was a French Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. She was bred and raced by Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte Farms. She was sired by Danehill, a multiple Champion sire in England, Ireland, and France and the most successful sire in the history of Australian Thoroughbred racing. Her dam was the outstanding broodmare, Hasili, whose sire Kahyasi won the 1988 Irish and Epsom Derbys. Banks Hill is a full sister to Cacique, Intercontinental, Dansili and Champs Elysees.

2001 European and American Champion

Trained by André Fabre, Banks Hill made her racing debut at age two with a win in the Prix Pearl Cap at Maisons-Laffitte Racecourse on October 31, 2000. She had an outstanding year at age three, winning the Prix de Sandringham at Chantilly Racecourse and England's Group 1 Coronation Stakes at Ascot Racecourse before being sent to Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, There, she gave Juddmonte Farms their first ever Breeders' Cup win with an impressive 5½-length victory in the October 27 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. Banks Hill's 2001 performances earned her the Eclipse Award as the American Champion Female Turf Horse and the Cartier Award as the European Champion Three-Year-Old Filly.

Banks Hill's only win of 2002 came on August 18 in her third start when she captured the Group 1 Prix Jacques Le Marois at Deauville Racecourse. After running second to Rock of Gibraltar in the September 8 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp, she was sent back to the United States in September 2002 where she ran third in the October 5 Yellow Ribbon Stakes after which trainer André Fabre recommended she be transferred to American trainer Robert Frankel to prepare for the defense of her Breeders' Cup title. For Frankel, Banks Hill ran second behind stablemate Starine in her return to the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf on October 26 at Arlington Park, and in the final start of her career on December 2, ran fourth in the Matriarch Stakes at Hollywood Park Racetrack.

Retired to broodmare duty, Banks Hill was bred twice to Kingmambo and once to Empire Maker. To date, her foals have not met with success in racing.

References

• Banks Hill's pedigree and partial racing stats
• Banks Hill at Juddmonte.com
• 2001 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf results at Breeders' Cup.com
• Video at Breeders' Cup.com of Banks Hill's win in the 2001 Filly & Mare Turf