“V” Is For Victory: Visionaire Crowned Champion Freshman Sire

“V” Is For Victory: Visionaire Crowned Champion Freshman Sire

Team Valor International and Summerhill Stud’s big magnificent son of Grand Slam has been crowned Champion Freshman Sire for the 2014/2015 racing season. Querari, Warm White Night and another of KZN’s young sires, Spring Valley and Roski Stud’s Just As Well, finished in fourth position.

Visionaire’s first American season was interrupted with his export to South Africa, leaving behind a small crop of first foals. News began filtering through from the United States as his first runners became winners and went on to produce a Stakes Winner in Bacopa Breeze, and another Stakes Placed horse in Outlook. She Is Tango, Predicting and My Pal Shawn have all gone onto be multiple winners with three and more in the bag.

Visionaire has produced 10 individual winners, with 13 wins between them to date with 29 places and a total stakes earned of R928 450.

His first yearlings were enthusiastically received at sales, with a stunning grey filly Yoruba – a half-sister to No Worries, being knocked down at the 2014 National Yearling Sale for R1,400 000. This was followed with yet another grey colt in 2015 selling for R650 000 at the Nationals, named Tumbling out of the mare Summersault.

As it turns out Visionaire’s first South African winner Royal Pleasure, bred by Team Valor out of a King Of Kings mare, would also give him his first Graded Stakes Winner in South Africa, which saw her take the Gr3 Strelitzia Stakes and remain unbeaten from three starts over distances of 1000-1100m.

The R30 000 Suncoast KZN Yearling Sale graduate trained by Glen Kotzen has provided her owners with much pleasure which include Team Valor International (Nom: Mr B Irwin), 3 A Racing Syndicate (Nom: Mr W A W Bowman), Mrs Vanashree & Mr Anant Singh.

Visionaire’s first South African foal named Lightning Bolt was delivered at Graceland Farm for breeder Alec Hogg, and very pleasingly the juvenile colt out of Dancing Gift has already won and placed from two starts for owners Messrs C G and Lee Scribante.

Alec Hogg commented in his blog after the birth of their colt, “Visionaire stood for a year in Kentucky but was brought to SA in 2011 in line with Barry’s vision of mating the blood of high class American speed with quality South African stamina whose value he says is under-rated worldwide,” says Alec.

Barry Irwin of Team Valor, a keen supporter of the South African breeding and racing industry, won the Kentucky Derby with Animal Kingdom.

All eyes will be on Mike Bass’ Jet Air juvenile colt carded to run in todays Gr1 Premiers Champion Stakes, having won twice from five starts for owners’ Messrs Bryn Ressell and Marsh Shirtliff.

Visionaire, by Grand Slam out of Scarlet Tango by French Deputy, won five races in the USA over distances of 1300 – 1700m, retiring with a Timeform Rating of 126.

His wins include the Gr1 King’s Bishop Stakes (previous winners included Distorted Humor and More Than Ready), a race that needs to be seen in which with a phenomenal win, Visionaire coming powerfully from the back of the field to win at great speed by over two lengths in a time of 1 minute 21.94 seconds. His Gr3 win was the Gotham Stakes, won in the past by the likes of Secretariat, his paternal grandsire Gone West, Seeking The Gold and Gulch.

Visionaire will stand at Summerhill Stud for a fee of R40 000 +vat this season. (R10 000 nomination and R30 000 live foal guaranteed).

Congratulations to Summerhill Stud who also finished second on the National Breeders Log for the season and Team Valor and we look forward to very exciting times ahead from Visionaire!