South African mare dam of Breeders' Cup 2yo runner

FYI, Team Valor International tomorrow will be represented in the $1-million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (first BC race of the day, post time 1:50 p. m. EDT, which is 7:50 p. m. for you guys) by our home-bred colt Pluck, a son of More Than Ready out of the mare Fort Wood mare Secret Heart, who I bought from Laurie Jaffe after she has won a Listed race and placed in a few Grade 1 races.

Secret Heart did not win in the U. S., but because of her ample size, terrific pedigree and abundant speed, we kept her as a broodmare.

Pluck is her first foal.

He is about 16 hands, black with a little white on his lower limbs and full of quality.

Pluck has run 4 times, winning twice, running third and dead-heating for second in a $100,000 stakes from which he was disqualified for interference in the stretch. His best win came in the Grade 3 Summer Stakes, which gave him an automatic qualifier for the BC Juvenile Turf.

He is 6 to 1 on the morning line.

He wants a cut in the ground and it only rain a bit last night for the first rain of the week. Our best hope is that Michael Stoute is threatening to scratch Workforce if the course is not softer and he may have the clout to pressure the track officials into watering the course, which would do wonders for our colt's chances.

Great to hear about SAf-connections. Thanks for the heads-up.

Barry,

All the best with your colt. He is a super looker. Saw him when he dead heated for 2nd.
Also all the best with Ebony Flyer. She is a super, big filly. I hold her in very high regard!

Enjoy the Twin Spires over the next two days!!!

Very interesting, thanks for your posting.

As good as Pluck is, I have another 2yo colt out of another South African mare that is better. His name is Badleroibrown. He is by Leroidesanimaux, a Champion that I bought and sold to Stonewall Farm in Kentucky. This colt ran second beaten a head bob in his debut last week at Churchill Downs. I rate him 5 pounds better than Pluck. He is out of the Western Winter mare Ginger Punch, who won for Neil Bruss in South Africa, after which I bought an interest. She was such a bad bleeder that she bled while trotting in Kentucky. She was retired and I wound up owning all of her. I bred her on a lifetime breeding right and got this gorgeous home-bred colt. You will be hearing a lot from him next spring and summer. It is definitely better to be lucky than anything else in the game!

A very smart man once said....The harder you work, the luckier you get

Barry was watching the Breeders cup on UK tv lastnight and the Numpties that they left in charge said something i think you might like to hear.

They were talking about the US tracks reverting back to Dirt from Synthetic surfaces and stated the the straw that broke the camels back was your boy Gitano Hernando winning a Grade1 after winning at lowly wolverhampton

All the best barry

all the best Barry and Team Valor

Wow, great win by Ebony Flyer in the Odessa. Congrats!

Looks a decent sort, well done....

Tommy_Hotspur Wrote:

---

> Barry,
>
> All the best with your colt. He is a super looker.
> Saw him when he dead heated for 2nd.
> Also all the best with Ebony Flyer. She is a
> super, big filly. I hold her in very high regard!
>
> Enjoy the Twin Spires over the next two days!!!


Double WOW!!!!!