Banks Hill (foaled February 24, 1998 in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

) was a French

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

. She was bred and raced by Khalid Abdullah's

Juddmonte Farms Juddmonte Farms is a horse breeding farm, owned until his death on 12th January 2021 by Prince Khalid bin Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.National Thoroughbred Racing Association"Juddmonte Farms, Inc.", profile. Retrieved October 16, 2007. Overview Ju ...

. She was sired by Danehill, a multiple Champion sire in England, Ireland, and France and the most successful sire in the history of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n Thoroughbred racing. Her dam was the outstanding

broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

, Hasili, whose sire

Kahyasi Kahyasi (2 April 1985 – 2008) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse. He won the first five races of his seven-race career, including the Epsom Derby and the Irish Derby as a three-year-old in 1988. Backg ...

won the 1988

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey o ...

s. Banks Hill is a full sister to

Cacique A ''cacique'' (Latin American ; ; feminine form: ''cacica'') was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, the indigenous inhabitants at European contact of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. The term is a Spa ...

Intercontinental Intercontinental is an adjective to describe something which relates to more than one continent. Intercontinental may also refer to: * Intercontinental ballistic missile, a long-range guided ballistic missile * InterContinental Hotels Group (IH ...

Dansili Dansili (27 January 1996 – 22 December 2021) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He won five races, including the Prix du Muguet. After retiring from racing he became a successful stallion, with his progeny including Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe ...

and

Champs Elysees Champs may refer to: Music * The Champs, a U.S. instrumental music group * Champs (Brazilian band), a Brazilian boy band * Champs (British band), a British folk- and indie rock-influenced band * The Fucking Champs, a U.S. progressive heavy metal ...

2001 European and American Champion

Trained by

André Fabre André Fabre (born 9 December 1945) is a French thoroughbred horse racing trainer. The son of a diplomat, Fabre graduated from university with a law degree but then decided to pursue a career in thoroughbred horse racing. He began by working in t ...

, Banks Hill made her racing debut at age two with a win in the Prix Pearl Cap at

Maisons-Laffitte Racecourse The Hippodrome de Maisons-Laffitte at 1 avenue de la Pelouse in the northwestern Parisian suburb of Maisons-Laffitte in France was a grass, turf horse racing facility and Hippodrome, track for Thoroughbred flat racing. Opened in 1878 by Joseph Olle ...

on October 31, 2000. She had an outstanding year at age three, winning the

Prix de Sandringham The Prix de Sandringham is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Chantilly over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is scheduled to take p ...

Chantilly Racecourse Chantilly Racecourse (In French: "Hippodrome de Chantilly") is a Thoroughbred turf racecourse for flat racing in Chantilly, Oise, France, about north of the centre of the city of Paris. Chantilly Racecourse is located in the country's main hors ...

and England's

Group 1 Group 1 may refer to: * Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal * Group 1 (racing), a historic (until 1981) classification for Touring car racing, applied to standard touring cars. Comparable to modern FIA Group N * Group On ...

Coronation Stakes The Coronation Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 7 furlong and 213 yards (1,603 metres), and it is schedul ...

Ascot Racecourse Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and ...

before being sent to

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...

Elmont, New York Elmont is an unincorporated hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in northwestern Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, United States, along its border with the borough of Queens in New York City. The population was 35,265 at the ...

, There, she gave Juddmonte Farms their first ever

Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, ...

win with an impressive 5½-length victory in the October 27

Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf The Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for fillies and mares, three years old and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championship ...

. Banks Hill's 2001 performances earned her the

Eclipse Award The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division that is made by a few small selected American ...

as the

American Champion Female Turf Horse The American Champion Female Turf Horse award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor. It is part of the Eclipse Awards program and is awarded annually to a female horse (filly or mare) for her performance on grass race courses. Until 1978 t ...

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 The Prix Jacques Le Marois is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred colts and fillies aged three years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile ...

Deauville Racecourse Hippodrome Deauville-La Touques is a race track for thoroughbred horse racing located in Deauville in the Calvados département, in the Normandy ''région'' of France. Originally called Hippodrome de la Touques, it was named for the Touques River t ...

. After running second to

Rock of Gibraltar The Rock of Gibraltar (from the Arabic name Jabel-al-Tariq) is a monolithic limestone promontory located in the British territory of Gibraltar, near the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula, and near the entrance to the Mediterr ...

in the September 8

Prix du Moulin de Longchamp The Prix du Moulin de Longchamp is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is sch ...

, she was sent back to the United States in September 2002 where she ran third in the October 5

Yellow Ribbon Stakes The Rodeo Drive Stakes is a Grade I race for thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three-years-old and upwards. It is run at Santa Anita Park with a current purse of $300,000 and is contested over a distance of . Originally named the Yellow Ribbon ...

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

on October 26 at

Arlington Park Arlington International Racecourse (formerly Arlington Park, the name was Arlington Park Jockey Club from as soon as 1948 up to 1955) was a horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Horse racing in the Chicago regi ...

, and in the final start of her career on December 2, ran fourth in the

Matriarch Stakes :'' This article is about an American horse race. For the Australian horse race, see Matriarch Stakes (Australia).'' The Matriarch Stakes is a Graded stakes race, Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares that are of age thre ...

Hollywood Park Racetrack Hollywood Park was a thoroughbred race course located in Inglewood, California, about 3 miles (5 km) from Los Angeles International Airport and adjacent to the Forum indoor arena. In 1994, the original Hollywood Park Casino was added to the ...

Stud Record

Banks Hill has produced the following foals. *2004 Cavvy, colt by Kingmambo, unrace

*2005 Ideal World, colt by Kingmambo, dual listed winner and group 2 runner up in Franc

*2006 Trojan Queen, filly by Empire Maker, winner in France and dam of group 3 winner Sangariu

and group 3 placed Emergent. *2008, colt by Giants Causeway, died as a yearling. *2009 Romantica, filly by Galileo, 4 wins including Group 1

Prix Jean Romanet The Prix Jean Romanet is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in France open to thoroughbred Filly, fillies and mares aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 2,000 met ...

br>
and runner up in Group 1

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*2010 Dumfriesshire, filly by Oasis Dream, unraced. *2013 Replete, filly by Makfi, unrace

*2014 Ringleader, gelding by New Approach, unplaced in two start

*2016 Wherewithal, gelding by Lope De Vega placed at 1 mil

*2018 Caprioli, colt by Galileo

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
* Banks Hill Racing Pos

* Banks Hill American Classic Pedigree

Video at Breeders' Cup.com of Banks Hill's win in the 2001 Filly & Mare Turf
{{Cartier Champion Three-year-old Filly 1998 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in France Racehorses trained in the United States Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf winners Cartier Award winners Eclipse Award winners Thoroughbred family 11