Sailor's Cap overcame a 6 1/2-month layoff to blitz past the odds-on favorite Kip Deville in winning the $103,500 Poker Stakes (gr. IIIT) on a soft turf course at Belmont Park June 14.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Grade I winner Visionaire has been retired from racing after being unable to come back following an injury he likely suffered in his victory in the NetJets King's Bishop Stakes (gr. I) at Saratoga.
Thursday, April 23, 2009Hull, a recent late nomination to the Triple Crown, remained undefeated on April 2 with a 7 3/4-length allowance win at Turfway Park. He covered 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:16.21 in his second career race.
Thursday, April 02, 2009Mike de Kock, the internationally renowned trainer of Eagle Mountain, breaks new ground for the Breeders' Cup World Championships when he becomes the first South African to compete in the event. Eagle Mountain runs in the $3 million Emirates Airline Turf (gr. IT) at Santa Anita Oct. 25.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Favored Tasha's Miracle nipped Gorgeous Goose by a nose in Oak Tree's $106,100 Harold C. Ramser Sr. Handicap (gr. IIIT), snapping a seven-race losing streak in game fashion at Santa Anita turf Park Oct. 11.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Fairbanks, who enters off a resounding stakes victory at Saratoga last month, heads a field of seven older horses in the $500,000 Hawthorne Gold Cup Handicap (gr. II) Sept. 27, all of them hoping to establish themselves as a Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) contender.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008The $1.5-million Storm Cat filly purchased by Team Valor International at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga select yearling sale has been named Carriage Trade, and she will be trained by Kiaran Mclaughlin, according to Team Valor's Barry Irwin.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Visionaire, winner of the Aug. 23 NetJets King's Bishop Stakes (gr. I), won't be pointed for the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita Park in October because none of the races offers him the opportunity to do "what he does best," according to a recent article on Team Valor International's Web site.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Last coming off the turn, Visionaire circled the field to post an impressive 2 1/4-length win in the $250,000 NetJets King's Bishop Stakes (gr. I) at Saratoga Aug. 23.
Saturday, August 23, 2008The Fasig-Tipton Saratoga select yearling sale, a small boutique auction that offers quality horses, got off to what the company's chairman, D.G. Van Clief Jr., termed "a solid start " Aug. 4 in New York.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Racing partnerships continue to attract investors even though the economy is weak.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Perhaps Mark Toothaker of Legacy Bloodstock said it best during the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July select yearling auction: "The bull's-eye is getting smaller on what the marketplace is wanting. It's gone from about the size of a quarter to the size of a dime."
Wednesday, July 16, 2008Barry Irwin, who heads Team Valor International, is changing his strategy for acquiring horses for the racing partnerships his company puts together. And that could be good news for yearling sale consignors.
Thursday, July 10, 2008Kinsella, the $2.2-million sale-topper at last year's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga select yearling auction, is in training with Todd Pletcher and could make his racing debut late this year.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
When everyone at Colonial Downs was looking for shelter or an umbrella they should have been looking for a Sailor's Cap in the $600,000 Colonial Turf Cup (gr. IIIT).
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Michael Matz didn't expect Visionaire to sizzle in his final work before the Kentucky Derby Presented By Yum! Brands (gr. I), so the trainer was satisfied when the colt breezed a half-mile in :48.40 Monday morning at Churchill Downs.
Monday, April 28, 2008
The 3-year-old picture in New York was about as foggy as the weather conditions at Aqueduct March 8, but Visionaire helped clear things up a bit with a late burst to capture the $250,000 Gotham Stakes (gr. III) by a nose over Texas Wildcatter.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
California attorney Aron Wellman has been named racehorse administrator by Barry Irwin's Kentucky-based Team Valor International.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Team Valor International's Alexandra Rose, under a patient ride by Rafael Bejarano, swept past foes in the stretch to win the Monrovia Handicap (gr. IIIT) at 6 1/2 furlongs on the turf at Santa Anita Park Jan. 1.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
The most expensive yearling sold at public auction so far this year is scheduled to be trained by Todd Pletcher, Team Valor International's Barry Irwin said Aug. 26.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Even with a $2.2-million Mr. Greeley colt, the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga select yearling auction experienced downturns.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Team Valor International went to $2.2 million to acquire a Mr. Greeley colt to top the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga select yearling sale that concluded Tuesday with across-the-board declines.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Barry Irwin has purchased Jeff Siegel's interest in Team Valor and will operate the stable as its sole owner, the Versailles-based company announced July 3.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007