Team Valor Acquires Half in Unbeaten Va Bank

Team Valor International has acquired a 50% interest in Poland-based Va Bank, a 4-year-old son of Archipenko, who is unbeaten in 12 career starts following his Aug. 27 victory in the Preis der Sparkassen Finanzgruppe (Ger-III) at Baden-Baden in Germany.

Va Bank, a 2013 Tattersalls Ireland yearling purchase for about $6,072, will race in partnership with his Polish owner Janusz Zienkiewicz and continue to be trained in Warsaw by Macel Janikowski.

Team Valor president Barry Irwin said he has always believed a good horse can come from anywhere. 

"And, when a horse is unbeaten, nobody knows where it is likely to level off," he said. "This is a serious racehorse, he has a tremendous turn of foot and he has a ton of heart.

"My wife Kathleen touted me on this one. She follows racing in obscure international regions. We tried and failed to buy him after he had won his last race in Poland, but we were stymied. After he won in Germany, we redoubled our efforts and were able to figure out how to get the deal done."

Successful from six to 13 furlongs, Va Bank is likely to make the final start of his current campaign Oct. 2 when he defends his crown in Wielka Warszawska, a local group I event, at Słuzewiec Racecourse in Warsaw. He probably will be rested over the winter and resurface after a Polish prep for a major race either in Germany or France in 2017.

"While my new partner and I will be mindful of giving the colt his best chance to maintain his unbeaten record," Irwin said, "we likely will experiment with him over more ground to find out if he is a middle-distance runner or if he has the stamina to target the Melbourne Cup (Aus-I)."

Va Bank was bred in Ireland by Airlie Stud. His dam is the Dilshaan mare Vinales, a half sister to the dam of two-time King's Stand (Eng-I) winner and young sire Equiano and group III-placed multiple stakes winner Evita Peron.