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NEWS 
THE TEAM
THE METHOD
GETTING STARTED
FAMOUS HORSES
STATISTICS
ROSTER
LINKS |
Left unmolested after an opening :23 1/5 quarter-mile, Fairbanks opened a 4-length advantage on the backstretch. The long-striding son of Giant’s Causeway had his lead cut to just under 3 lengths at the quarter pole when another Giant’s Causeway 4-year-old in Neko Bay made an inside move, but when Richard Migliore tapped the strapping bay a couple of times entering the lane, Fairbanks drew off again. When the Kentucky-bred reached the wire after 1 1/8 miles in a fast 1:47 4/5 he was nearly 7 lengths on top. By the time he reached the middle of the clubhouse turn in the gallop out, he was about 16 or 17 lengths ahead of his nearest pursuer. “He wants to run all day,” said Barry Irwin, who bought the colt when he topped the Saratoga yearling sale at $1.85 million. “I don’t know what is next, but he likes Belmont Park and Saratoga. I cannot wait until we can stretch him out for a truer test of his stamina. “We had hoped to run him in the Santa Anita Handicap over a mile and a quarter, but he injured a hoof when he stumbled and we had to regroup. We thought the mile and a quarter distance and layout were perfect for him at Santa Anita. Maybe we’ll try again next season.” Fairbanks, who was fifth in a pair of grass routers early at 3, now has won 4 of his 6 main track starts and his winning margins have averaged 5 lengths. Team Valor has not bought a lot of yearlings over the years, fashioning its reputation over the past 20 years as a prospector of emerging talent with a start or two under its belt. But the stable’s record with yearlings always has been excellent. So far this season, Team Valor has been represented by Grade 1 winner Little Miss Magic in South Africa, Grade 3 winner Fairbanks, Gulfstream Park stakes winner Audacious Chloe and Grade 2 winner King of the Roxy. All of them except King of the Roxy were selected by Barry Irwin at public auction and bought as yearlings. Fairbanks trained like a good colt at Saratoga at 2 for Todd Pletcher, but he went off form and was sent to Dr. Barry Eisaman’s training center near Ocala, Florida, where the veterinarian diagnosed a badly pulled muscle over his hip. Last season, after a pair of mediocre starts on grass, Fairbanks was put in the dirt and he has thrived since then, his only two weak efforts coming when he stumbled in the Grade 2 San Antonio Handicap and the Grade 3 Pegasus Stakies at The Meadowlands, where he never got untracked. From Daily Racing Form comes this:
by Steve Andersen
The front-running win, by a convincing 6 3/4 lengths, left Barry Irwin, the managing partner of the Team Valor Stables, optimistic that Fairbanks can develop into a distance specialist this year. "He wants to run a mile and a quarter," Irwin said. Ridden by Richard Migliore, Fairbanks ($10.80) was never challenged on the front and pulled away to win easily. Fairbanks ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:47.87, after setting an early pace of 23.33 and 47.04 seconds. "When I saw a half-mile in 47 and he was four lengths in front, I thought we were in good shape," said Michael McCarthy, assistant to winning trainer Todd Pletcher. Pletcher also won the Florida Derby, Skip Away Handicap and Orchid Handicap at Gulfstream Park on Saturday and the Next Move Handicap at Aqueduct. Neko Bay, the 8-5 favorite, closed from fourth to finish second. He got within three lengths of Fairbanks in early stretch but could not close ground on the leader. Racketeer finished third in the field of six older horses. Preachinatthebar, the 117-pound starting highweight, was third to the turn but faded through the stretch, finishing 10 1/4 lengths behind Fairbanks. Fairbanks has won 4 of 8 starts and $147,263. In his previous start at this meeting, he finished sixth of seven in the Grade 2 San Antonio Handicap here on Feb. 4, a race that was intended to be a prep for the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap on March 3. Fairbanks emerged from the San Antonio with a damaged quarter that required a brief rest. "This is what we thought would happen last time and we could have run in the Big Cap," Irwin said of Saturday's win. Fairbanks, 4, will be sent to Belmont Park later this month. "I'm sure he'll like Belmont," Irwin said.
After stumbling badly at the start of the San Antonio Handicap, Team Valor’s Fairbanks easily toppled his five opponents with a smooth, wire-to-wire triumph by 6 ¾ lengths in Saturday’s 51st running of Grade III, $107,000 Tokyo City Handicap at Santa Anita. Richard Migliore had the 4-year-old bay colt on the lead at the start of the mile-and-one-eighth event for older horses, and they never faced a serious challenge while negotiating the distance in 1:47.87. The leisurely splits included 47.04 for the half mile and 1:11.06 for six furlongs. “When I saw the :47 half mile, I thought we were in pretty good shape,” observed Michael McCarthy, the assistant to winning trainer Todd Pletcher. “My horse broke cleanly, and I liked the way he was doing it,” said Migliore. “I just decided to go with the flow and he ran a great race. From the eighth pole to the wire, he did it very easily.” His stumbling sixth in the Grade II San Antonio on Feb. 4 left Fairbanks with a non-threatening sixth at 5-2 odds, and he was dismissed as the fourth choice among the six in Saturday’s Tokyo City. Fairbanks paid $10.80, $4.60 and $3.40. Aaron Gryder, aboard 8-5 favorite Neko Bay, attempted to make a run at the leader in midstretch. But after a brief spurt, the runner-up retreated. He paid $3.00 and $2.40. Racketeer, another length back under apprentice Joseph Talamo, paid $2.80 to show. It was the fourth win in eight starts for the Kentucky-bred son of Giant’s Causeway. It also was his first graded stakes victory. The winning purse of $64,320 boosted his earnings to $147,263. McCarthy said he wasn’t sure when Fairbanks might race next, but noted that the colt will be headed for the Keeneland meet in Kentucky on April 10. RICHARD MIGLIORE, FAIRBANKS, WINNER: “Going into the race, I felt like the four (horse, Yes He’s a Pistol) and the five (horse, Preachinatthebar) would have more speed. My horse broke cleanly and I liked the way he was doing it. I just decided to go with the flow and he ran a great race. I decided to set him down going to the quarter pole because the (starting) gate was on the outside rail and there were tire tracks. I wanted to keep him focused on running at that point and not get distracted. From the eighth pole to the wire, he did it easily. I’m glad I got to ride him. I’ve always been lucky with (owner) Team Valor.” MICHAEL McCARTHY, ASSISTANT TO TODD PLETCHER, FAIRBANKS , WINNER: ‘’We thought we’d be first, second or third somewhere up the backside, obviously very close to the pace . . . it seemed to work out fine. When I saw the :47 half mile, I thought we were in pretty good shape.’’ Asked what might be next: ‘’He leaves on the 10th (of April) for Keeneland, so I don’t know at this point.’’ NOTES: The winning owners are Barry Irwin of Lexington, Ky., and Jeff Siegel of Duarte, CA, who race as Team Valor, LLC.
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