Team Valor Buys Brazilian Champion Filly Juno

Team Valor International has bought unbeaten Brazilian champion filly Juno, who recently captured Brazil's equivalent of the One Thousand Guineas and won for the fifth time in as many career starts.

 

A daughter of Setembro Chove (by Fast Gold), Juno capped a group I double in taking the Barao de Pirachicaba (Brz-I), the first jewel in the Filly Triple Crown at Ciadade Jardim in her 3-year-old debut Sept. 7. That classic victory followed her triumph in the Immensity (Brz-I) at the same racecourse June 27 to cap her 2-year-old campaign en route to honors as the champion in her division.   

 

Juno will be flown to Florida in early October and will initially train with Bill Recio at the Classic Mile training complex near Ocala, Fla.

 

"No trainer has been selected for the filly yet," said Team Valor's Barry Irwin. "We want to see how she is doing next year before making that decision. Most likely she will be trained either in California or along the Eastern Seaboard by somebody who has done well with Southern Hemisphere horses."

 

Team Valor said in a release that one of the reasons for buying the unbeaten grass filly is that any foals produced by her when mated to Team Valor's 2011 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner Animal Kingdom   will be inbred 3x3 to Candy Stripes, the paternal grandsire of Animal Kingdom and the maternal grandsire of Juno.

 

"Most of the mares we have bought for Animal Kingdom so far have produced successful runners when bred to stallions from the same Blushing Groom sire line as Animal Kingdom," Irwin said. "I was intrigued by the possibility of getting a few foals that are inbred to Blushing Groom to give Animal Kingdom a wider spectrum of racing prospects to represent him."

 

Team Valor's purchase of Juno follows last month's acquisition of Colorado Girl, who arrived in Florida last week from Brazil, where the daughter of Elusive Quality   won eight of 11 starts, including a group I fixture in June at Gavea. She will visit Animal Kingdom in the spring.