Barry Irwin out-dueled Olin Gentry, representing the fledging but well-heeled Legends Racing group, to claim a Storm Cat yearling half-sister to Lil’s Lad on behalf of Team Valor International on a bid of $1.5 million, the highest price paid for any filly at Fasig-Tipton Company’s annual Saratoga summer yearling sale. More

The 2007-2008 South African racing season ended July 31 and last weekend it was announced that Team Valor International had 4 individuals nominated for an Equus Award, which is South Africa’s equivalent to an Eclipse Award. Team Valor is the only owner with as many as 4 nominees. More

(SOLD OUT) Team Valor International did something it normally does not do in North America, which is buy a group of unraced horses and offer them in one package. But when stable owner Barry Irwin found not only quality but a rare buyers' market at this week's Fasig-Tipton Company's annual July sale of selected yearlings, he availed himself of an opportunity to land half a dozen top racing prospects. More

Sailor’s Cap, dispatched as the lukewarm 7 to 2 choice for Saturday’s $600,000 Turf Cup at Colonial Downs, turned a wide open affair into a romp, as he swooped to command shortly after entering the stretch and won by 6 ¾ lengths in a driving rain. More

She’s on Fire ran her eyeballs out on Saturday to reverse a decision with the 3yo Eddington in the Grade 3 Jubilee Handicap at Turffontein and in the process received the ultimate compliment as to her well being, when Weichong Marwing jumped off second-favorite Dancer’s Daughter to ride the Team Valor mare for his old boss Ormond Ferraris in the Grade 1 Durban July, the biggest race on the South African racing calendar, in the process causing shock waves to ripple throughout the Turf. More

Team Valor is as hot as the blazing midday summer sun. In its last 11 starts, the stable has earned 7 victories and 4 other placings. Yesterday's smashing victory in the Obeah Stakes by Unbridled Belle, and this morning's impressive win by She's On Fire in the Jubilee Handicap are recent highlights in the streak. More

Russian Sage made his Team Valor International debut a winning one when he mastered Galant Gagnant in the closing strides to capture the million-rand Daily News 2000 by a head on Saturday at Greyville race course in Durban, South Africa. More

Barry Irwin was invited to speak before the Farm Managers' Club at their monthly meeting on Wednesday evening, and was specifically instructed to "tell them what they need to hear." Transcript of the speech is available at this link. More

Team Valor International has put together an eclectic assemblage of racing partners from different countries to campaign Grade 1 Cape of Good Hope Derby winner Russian Sage, stable principal Barry Irwin announced today. More

On Her Toes, in her third career outing, became a Grade 1 winner today when she came back on after momentarily losing command to post a dead-heat victory in the prestigious Allan Robertson Fillies Championship at Scottsdale race course in South Africa. More

Alexandra Rose, a Graded stakes winner in her native South Africa and North America, will be flown from Southern California to Australia next month where she will visit successful sire Hussonet. More

Team Valor International’s 5-year-old mare Stratos, winner of three consecutive Graded stakes at Turffontein race course, was voted the Champion Older Female in award ceremonies presented by the Racing Association. The awards honored the best of the best to race this season on the Highveld. More

She's On Fire ran second in the GommaGomma Challenge on Saturday With a purse of $463,000, the Grade 1 is the richest race on the South African calendar. More

Team Valor International and Vision Racing LLC's Visionaire was the first name drawn out of the box at 11 a.m. on Wednesday to earn his connections the first choice of post positions later that evening at the "draw". Trainer and owners conferred and settled on post position 8, the same post from which Barbaro emerged two years earlier. More

Multiple stakes winner Stratos, who this season at Turffontein capped off a hat trick of Graded wins at Turffontein with a Grade 1 score in the Empress Club Stakes, has been retired to stud, it was announced by Barry Irwin, principal of Team Valor International. More

Team Valor's Grade 2 winner King of the Roxy was named Ohio's Horse of the Year at the annual breeders' banquet held March 28 at historic Darby Dan Farm near Galloway Ohio. The good-looking bay also received a special recognition award as the leading money-earning Ohio-bred in 2007. More

She's On Fire ran off with the Grade 2 Gerald Rosenburg by nearly 9 lengths on Saturday, following in the legendary footsteps of the stable's famous mare Irridescence who won the same race in 2005, under the same jockey. More

A decision on Visionaire’s next start will be made after he has breezed next weekend. Michael Matz worked the colt a half-mile Friday and will breeze him five-eighths next weekend. The Team Valor International and Vision Racing LLC-owned colt flies from Fort Lauderdale to Lexington on March 30. “I want to see how the colt acts in those two breezes before recommending anything,” Matz told Barry Irwin this week. More

Visionaire, advises trainer Michael Matz from his winter base at Palm Meadows training track near Boynton Beach, Florida, has returned in “good shape” from his weekend victory in the Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct. Next on the agenda for the chestnut son of Grand Slam is most likely the Blue Grass Stakes. More

Visionaire overcame a pronounced bias against closers this afternoon over a sloppy surface on the speed-favoring Inner Dirt track at Aqueduct to punch his ticket for the Kentucky Derby by winning the $250,000 Gotham Stakes. More

Team Valor International will form partnerships to buy yearlings at next month's sale in South Africa. They will begin racing in that nation and the good ones will find their way to the United States, Dubai and Europe. The stable has enjoyed unprecedented success in the initial few forays into these ventures. To read about the 2008 model and see a 12-minute video presentation, please review the full presentation. More

Top American owner Team Valor has become an integral part of the South African racing scene. Team kingpin Barry Irwin’s astute purchasing of locally bred horses has been a huge boost to the country’s breeding and racing industries – in terms of both revenue and profile. More

Stratos responded to late urgings from Champion jockey Weichong Marwing to surge in the shadow of the wire and claim the Grade 1 Empress Club Stakes on Saturday at Turffontein for third-generation trainer Mike Azzie. It was déjà vu all over again, as Team Valor International, Weichong Marwing and sire Jet Master joined together for a second consecutive year to nail down the Empress Club. More

Temair roared to the front inside the final furlong when given her head by Bernard Fayd’Herbe and won by a length on Saturday in Cape Town running 6 furlongs up the straight at Kenilworth race course for trainer Mike Bass. The daughter of Tara’s Halls was bought by Barry Irwin for $50,000 at the National Yearling Sale in May of 2007. More

Austintatious, a well-bred son of Distorted Humor that was second in a hot Newmarket maiden race over a mile in the second of his two starts last season, has been bought by Team Valor International. More

Colina Verde, the first to win Brazil’s Filly Triple Crown since her grandam turned the trick 29 years earlier, won her United States debut Monday at Santa Anita by an eased-down three-quarters of a length as the 4 to 5 favorite going a mile on grass. More

California native Aron Wellman, a 30-year-old attorney that Barry Irwin has known since he was playing T Ball, has joined Team Valor International. Although his entry title will be that of Racehorse Administrator, Wellman will be involved in all facets of the Team Valor operation. Barry Irwin said "Our stable has grown in number of racehorses and breeding stock and our client base had increased as well. More

Barry Irwin did not let being in a different hemisphere stop Team Valor International from Acquiring a majority interest this week from Vision Sales LLC in its promising Grand Slam colt Visionaire, who slammed a field of other 3-year-olds by 5 1/2 lengths on opening day of the Gulfstream Park meeting. More

Alexandra Rose started the year off with a bang for her owner Team Valor International by storming to a three-quarter length victory on New Year’s Day in the Grade 3 Monrovia Handicap sprinting 6 ½ furlongs down the infield hillside turf course at Santa Anita. More