Summer Soiree, who romped by 10 3/4 lengths in the March 26 Bourbonette Oaks (gr. III) at Turfway Park (VIDEO), has been bought by Team Valor International and will be pointed to the May 6 Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) at Churchill Downs.
Brereton Jones, his son Bret Jones, and the Wahoo Partners sold the filly for an undisclosed sum.
Graham Motion, who trains all of Team Valor's North American stock, will receive the War Front filly on the afternoon of April 4, after she is flown from Hot Springs, Ark. to Lexington.
Motion saddled Animal Kingdom to win the March 26 Spiral Stakes (gr. III), and he may wind up working the colt and filly together leading up to a possible appearance by the Leroidesanimaux colt in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I). Motion plans to breeze the colt and filly three times prior to the Churchill races.
Larry Jones trained Summer Soiree this year to win both of her starts, as she returned from a three-month layoff to win a Jan. 30 Oaklawn Park allowance race by 9 3/4 lengths prior to the Bourbonette.
"We saw her race in person on Saturday and we were ultra impressed with her,” said Barry Irwin, CEO of Team Valor International, in a release. “She appeared to be just galloping. Larry Jones has done a remarkable job with her."
Irwin said when he first began syndicating horses under the Clover Racing Stable banner in 1987, the first horse he bought was from former Kentucky gubernatorial candidate Jones and it was named Political Ambition. That son of Kirtling became the stable's first grade I winner when he captured that year’s Hollywood Derby.
