Wine mogul Jess Jackson believes he is backing a sure-fire winner with his latest venture – a range of celebrity-endorsed wines with an equine twist.
The Kendall-Jackson boss has saddled up the limited edition range of fewer than 300 cases to mark the achievements of Rachel Alexandra, a racehorse dubbed the greatest filly of all time after an 18-month winning streak of eight races in the US.
He bought the horse through his Kentucky-based Stonestreet Farms breeding operation after Rachel had won the Kentucky Oaks by a record 20-plus lengths in May this year.
Rachel responded by becoming the first filly to win the US$1.5m classic Preakness Stakes since 1924, defeating a field of top colts including Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird.
Her most recent victory came in the US$1.25m Haskell Stakes last Sunday (2 August) and, to date, she has amassed career prize money of US$2.5m.
‘Rachel Alexandra is an incredible thoroughbred who has proven to be the best three-year-old in racing today,’ said Jackson. ‘She is fast, strong and durable – the traits we should all be breeding into all future generations of racehorses.’
Meanwhile, Jackson is planning to breed Rachel to Curlin, his two-time Horse of the Year and winner of last year’s Dubai World Cup, once her racing career is over – and is ‘tremendously excited’ by the prospect of seeing the pair’s offspring.
No details of the Rachel Alexandra wines, which will be sold through Kendall-Jackson’s website, are yet available.
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Written by Richard Woodard
