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. Team Valor owns the 3-year-old son of Grand Slam in partnership with Vision Racing, and they believe Visionaire is most suited for one-turn races at seven and eight furlongs on dirt.
“It has taken us awhile to figure out exactly what this colt is most effective in doing, and he is a terrific one-turn runner at distances just past a sprint,” said Barry Irwin of Team Valor. “We look forward to following a traditional tried-and-true path toward a career as a stallion while shooting for the Jerome (Breeders’ Cup Handicap, gr. II) and (Hill ‘n’ Dale) Cigar Mile (gr. I).
“Next season, we look forward to racing him in the Carter (gr. I) and Metropolitan Mile (gr. I). This colt possesses the ability to be very explosive on the turn, and we feel he will get even better with age. He is a very exciting prospect and is lightly raced, having run only 10 times.”
Bred in Kentucky by Reiley McDonald and trained by Michael Matz, Visionaire has won five races, including this year’s Gotham Stakes (gr. IIII), and has earned $462,287.
“Naturally, we would love to run him in the Breeders’ Cup because we think he would provide quite a bit of entertainment, but it just hasn’t worked out for him,” Irwin said. “A one-turn mile would have been perfect for him or even a one-turn mile on grass.”