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November 17, 2004


VALOR BUYS 2YO TRIPLE CROWN PROSPECT GUILLAUME TELL,
FRENCH COLT BEATEN HEAD BOB IN FAMOUS GROUP 3 OVER MILE


Guillaume Tell (yellow cap) loses on unlucky head-bob
in the Group Three Prix Thomas Bryon in France.
Team Valor has made its final fall draft selection of 2004 with the purchase of the French-based 2-year-old colt Guillaume Tell, beaten a nose in a head-bobbing finish for the Group 3 Prix Thomas Bryon at Saint-Cloud race course.

Timeform rates the son of super-hot Freshman sire leader Rossini at 107, ranking him the equal prior to the Breeders' Cup of upset Juvenile winner Wilko and making him one of the fastest horses of his generation on the continent, as well as the highest-rated foreign colt ever acquired by Team Valor.

Rossini, sire of Guillaume Tell, was himself purchased last week, as Sheik Mohammed swooped up the young stallion in Ireland, after he became the only first-season stallion to sire a pair of Group winners in his initial crop. Guillaume Tell made it tantalizingly close to three such winners when hitting the wire on the wrong nod last week in Paris.

The Kentucky-bred sire is a three-quarter brother to North America’s leading sire Elusive Quality, the world-record-breaking Miler who is the sire of Smarty Jones. Rossini was a double Champion in Ireland and is off to a flying start with two Group winners in England.

Barry Irwin summed up the reasons Team Valor bought the colt as follows:
  • Quality - He ran a winning race at a high level in the prestigious Prix Thomas Bryon.
  • Gameness - He is a true battler.
  • Temperament - He is completely tractable, can be placed anywhere in a race and displays an instant response when asked to quicken.
  • Stamina - He has run all his races at a mile, except one that was half a furlong shorter.
  • Dirt - He showed a liking for dirt with a fast-finishing second at Deauville against winners in his second start.

Rossini, sire of Guillaume Tell, is much in demand.
Guillaume Tell was bought as a yearling and divided into a four-leg partnership by Jean Pierre du Bois, the horseman from whom Team Valor acquired Stylelistick, who became a double stakes winner at Keeneland before selling last season at Keeneland for $1.3 million.

It was because of Team Valor’s relationship with du Bois that the stable was able to beat out a lot of competition to buy Guillaume Tell when his connections decided to sell him.

Du Bois, who is regarded as the most successful Standardbred horseman in Europe, is a pinhooker of yearlings, with the intention of racing them a few times and selling them early in their careers.

Although du Bois has been doing this for less than half a dozen seasons, the list of horses he has discovered, trained and sold is quite impressive, including several that have come to America and won Graded races.

“When buying horses, it is always imperative to know why the seller has decided to unload a runner,” said Barry Irwin. “With du Bois there is no question: he has established a commercial game plan and he sticks to it. Add to that the fact that the man has a tremendous eye for a horse and buying from him is a win-win situation.”

Guillaume Tell has been well handled and not over done at 2, with 4 starts, while being allowed to race himself into condition.

His races are summarized as follows:
  • Race 1 Racing a mile on soft turf at Deauville on August 2, he came with a run 1 ½ furlongs out, then slackened late, showing that he clearly was not prepared to win his on his debut.
  • Race 2 Brought back 2 weeks later on Deauville’s new dirt track, he trailed until the last 1 ½ furlongs, then came flying with a rush to finish second on a day when closers fared poorly.
  • Race 3 Six weeks later he broke his maiden against winners in a Class B race in Paris, rating well while racing within striking distance. Once in front, he was passed by 2 others, but battled back to edge clear.
  • Race 4 In his latest start last week he tracked a pacemaker, went to the lead a furlong out, was joined by a stablemate with 100 yards remaining and fought gamely to lose a head-bobbing decision.
Barry Irwin said “What I like about this horse is that he has been raised in class for each race, yet he learned something and improved each time. He was allowed to race himself into condition. What we were able to get in Guillaume Tell is a colt that has been thoroughly tested and proven, yet he is not used up or completely exposed.

“Had Guillaume Tell won the Prix Thomas Bryon, I doubt if we would have been able to buy him, at least for a reasonable figure. He did just enough in each race to show what he was made of, yet not enough that we would have to give an arm and a leg for him.


Barry Irwin secured Guillaume Tell
due to previous deals with seller.
“Each one of his races has been highly rated by Timeform, which has a tendency to downgrade figures for all countries except for England.”

Team Valor plans to bring Guillaume Tell to Florida and place him with Todd Pletcher, who will put him on the Triple Crown trail starting in the winter.

“Guillaume Tell has a lot of American breeding in his pedigree,” Irwin pointed out. “His sire is an American-bred by American-bred Miswaki from a family with mostly dirt production.

“In the third and fourth generation of Guillaume Tell’s pedigree, 75 percent of the horses are American.

“This colt has already shown an ability to act on dirt, so we feel confident he can be a player on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.”

Guillaume Tell has the Dosage to get a distance of ground and he has already demonstrated that a middle distance is no problem for him.

Barry Irwin said “From strictly a subject viewpoint, there are two very likable things about this colt. For me, his best feature is his temperament, which makes him unusually tractable for a young horse.

“If you watch him run on the video tape, you notice the set of his ears, as they flop around, indicating complete relaxation while waiting to be asked to accelerate.

“Even when he is in front, he is in control of his emotions and his athleticism. He has the mindset and temperament to make the most of his talent. This is so, so special in a young, inexperienced horse.

“Secondly, you have to love this colt’s gameness. He is nothing if not a gamester extraordinaire. He gets passed, he digs in and he comes back on. Heart is why we race horses and this one has it.”


John Hammond
inspected the colt.
Team Valor had its Chantilly-based trainer John Hammond of Sweet Stream fame, inspect the colt this morning and his report follows:

“He is a neat colt,” Hammond said. “I’ve seen him before. His temperament stands out. He is good sized, without being either too big or too small, Good feet for American dirt racing.

“His front legs are correct. His hocks are set at a good angle. He seems a really solid type of colt. Very straight forward.

“He is solid chestnut with no white, which I like. He is a really likable sort. I’d say you would like him very much as an American.”

Guillaume Tell will be syndicated on the basis of $650,000 into interests of 10 percent ($65,000), 5 percent ($32,500) and 2 percent ($13,000).

Parties that desire to see a video tape or want to sign up for the partnership that will race Guillaume Tell are advised to contact Kim England Brette either by phone (888) 434-2677 or e-mail (TeamValor2@aol.com).

“I know I have been fingered as the little boy who cried wolf for what I am about to say,” Irwin uttered in conclusion, “but this is the last colt we plan to buy in 2004. We would still like to buy a young filly if one comes up, but this is it for colts.”


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