Barry Irwin Team Valor
Friday, March 9, 2007 at 10 a.m. (ET)
Former journalist Barry Irwin is president and partner with Jeff Seigel in Team Valor, one of the leading syndicates of partnerships in North American racing. Team Valor was formed in 1992 by Irwin and Seigel, who had previously operated under the nom de plume Clover Racing Stable, founded in 1987.
Since 1987, the Team Valor partnerships have campaigned horses that have earned more than $35.5 million. Among the top horses previously raced by Team Valor/Team Clover have been Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Prized (in partnership with Barbara LaCroix), Arlington Million winner Star of Cozzene, Santa Anita Derby winner The Deputy, Santa Anita Oaks winner Golden Ballet, Spinaway Stakes winner Cashier’s Dream, South African sensation and Dubai Duty Free winner Ipi Tombe, Irridescence, who defeated multiple champion Ouija Board in the Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup in Hong Kong, and grade/group I winners Becrux and Sweet Stream.
On March 3, Team Valor’s King of the Roxy took a big step along the Triple Crown Trail with a victory in the Hutcheson Stakes (gr. II). Team Valor and Team Clover has enjoyed previous classic success with My Memoirs (second in the 1992 Belmont Stakes), Captain Bodgit (second I n the 1997 Kentucky Derby and third in that year’s Preakness Stakes), and Thomas Jo (third in the 1998 Belmont).
In addition to his racing stable, Irwin is a supporter of various industry charitable endeavors. In 2006, he was honored by the Race for Education with the inaugural Valedictorian Award for his efforts on behalf of the organization that provides scholarships to children of those employed in the horse industry. He is also a member of the RFE board.
Irwin is also an outspoken advocate of steps to enhance the integrity and ethics of the racing industry.
In a “Final Turn” column published in The Blood-Horse magazine in December, Irwin wrote: “In America, not one state racing jurisdiction or racing association or owners or horsemen's group is fully dedicated to firmly establishing the integrity of racing. Only lip service, to a greater or lesser degree, is practiced, because ensuring the integrity of racing is costly and not considered a priority, even though without it, survival of the sport is fragile. The message has been intellectualized but not internalized. Our leaders must come to the realization that unless integrity is made the number one priority, the sport is doomed.”
Brooklyn, NY:
Barry I am a big fan of Edgar Prado. I read a quote from him about a month ago that he was "still looking for his Derby horse". Buffalo Man is out, and Lawrence the Roman disappointed. After winning the Hutcheson so easily on King of the Roxy, did he express interest to you in riding him in the derby?
Irwin:
Team Valor is not thinking about the Kentucky Derby with King of the Roxy. We did not plan on running him around two turns this spring until he surprised us with how easily he won the Hutcheson. He is forcing us to stretch him out. We have chosen the Santa Anita Derby as the race. Richard Migliore will ride him, as Edgar Prado is busy at Oaklawn Park on the same day. If Roxy surprises us again, I would say the Preakness is a lot more likely than the First Saturday in May under the Twin Spires in the Run for the Roses on the hallowed ground at Churchill Downs in Derby Town.
Fort Knox, KY:
Where is Captain Bodgit? I loved Captain Bodgit.
Irwin:
Captain Bodgit stands in at Dave Munro’s Highfield Stock Farm in Alberta, Canada. I loved him, too. He had more depth and heart than any horse we’ve ever raced.
To read the complete transcript of this chat, along with many others, check out Best of Talkin’ Horses.
Best of Talkin’ Horses features provocative “chats” with some of Thoroughbred racing’s most prominent names. Adapted from “Talkin’ Horses,” the popular weekly online chat series hosted by Bloodhorse.com, this edited collection provides additional insights by Ron Mitchell, editor and moderator of “Talkin’ Horses."
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