Team Valor International reached a milestone over the weekend when Blossom d’Orange landed the 1000th win for a partnership formed by Barry Irwin, scoring by 5 lengths in Saturday’s Group 3 Produccion Nacional at Maronas in Uruguay.
Blossom d’Orange wins ( Pic – Maronas)
Irwin and Jeff Siegel began putting together public syndicates in 1987 under the banner of Clover Racing Stables, which morphed into Team Valor in the early 1990s. When Irwin bought out Siegel in 2007, he added “International” to the moniker to reflect a broadened scope, which Blossom d’Orange exemplified over the weekend.
Barry Irwin
“I couldn’t have accomplished this milestone without the support of my racing partners, to whom I owe a debt of gratitude,” said Irwin. “Also, I am just as proud of being able to operate the same business for 30 consecutive years, which to me is as big a feat as winning 1,000 races.”
In her third career start, Blossom d’Orange became the 145th stakes winner from 558 individual runners (24 percent) for an Irwin partnership, with a total haul of 289 stakes triumphs, or 29 percent of the 1,000 win total. She is his 88th Group or Graded stakes winner.
The most prolific horse for an Irwin stable was Star of Cozzene, who leads the ledger in career wins (13) and stakes wins (9), racked up between 1991 and ’93, including back-to-back Grade 1 triumphs in the Arlington Million and Man o’ War Stakes.
Irwin has syndicated 26 Grade 1 winners overall, conquering top races across the globe including Kentucky Derby, the Dubai World Cup, the Dubai Duty Free, the Breeders’ Cup Turf, the Santa Anita Derby, the Santa Anita Handicap and Hong Kong’s Queen Elizabeth II Cup.
