Team Valor Purchases Group 3 Winner The Black Album
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Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt
Barry Irwin of Team Valor
Team Valor International has acquired The Black Album, winner of the Prix la Rochette (G3) at ParisLongchamp, and will point him to the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) Nov. 2 at Churchill Downs.
The son of Wootton Bassett prevailed in the seven-furlong Prix la Rochette Sept. 2 for his third victory in the past four outings for trainer Jane Soubagne and jockey Mickael Barzalona. The latter has accepted the mount for the one-mile Juvenile Turf. Soubagne will saddle The Black Album for the Breeders' Cup and then turn over the colt to Kentucky-based trainer Rodolphe Brisset.
The Black Album boasts the third-highest official rating among French 2-year-olds.
"This colt is just the right size for American racing, with tremendous athleticism. He has the ability to lay handy, pounce instantly when asked, and moxie to hold off all challengers the length of the stretch," said Team Valor CEO Barry Irwin. "What's so darn exciting about this guy is that he has top form already. In fact, in all the years we've been doing this, we have never bought a European colt that was so highly ranked or accomplished as a juvenile."
The Black Album will be considered for the Oct. 5 Prix Thomas Bryon (G3) at Saint-Cloud, but he could train up to the Breeders' Cup. Team Valor captured the 2010 Juvenile Turf with homebred Pluck.