June 8, 2007

BRILLIANT 3YO FILLY SPEEDSTER BOUGHT IN BRAZIL BY VALOR,
ROMPED ON GRASS IN GROUP 1 OVER BEST OLDER MALE SPRINTERS,
FAST LOOK HAILS FROM CALUMET FAMILY OF ALYDAR, OUR MIMS

Fast Look breezed to victory in one of Brazil's two Group 1 sprints on the racing calendar. (Click on photo for larger image)

Team Valor has acquired the high-octane burner Fast Look in Brazil, where on May 19 in the fifth start of her life the 3-year-old chestnut blur outran a field of the best sprinters of all ages to win a Group 1 grass sprint by more than 3 lengths.

Brazil cards only two Group 1 sprints during the year, both are run on turf and both are contested at 5 furlongs; yet, Brazil annually produces some of the world’s top sprinters.

Barry Irwin said “We’ve been trying to find one that fits our criteria for the past few years. This filly is a true flyer and she fits the bill for us. Can you imagine a 3-year-old filly in only her third start of the season beating the best older male sprinters in a Group 1 race?”

Team Valor’s partners responded quickly to the offering and the filly was syndicated last week on the same day the stable made interests available in the filly.

Fast Look not only is brilliantly fast, but she has a 100-percent American pedigree that represents the best Calumet Farm bloodlines of them all, as the family includes Champion filly Our Mims and her legendary half-brother Alydar.

The new filly’s first dam—a daughter of Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Wild Again—has produced 3 stakes horses, including fillies that have won a Grade 1 and placed in a Grade 1.

The new filly’s second dam—a daughter of Horse of the Year Spectacular Bid—is an American stakes producer and half-sister to the dam of Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Elmhurst.

The new filly’s third dam is Our Mims, Champion Filly at 3 when she took the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks and Grade 1 Alabama Stakes. In addition to being responsible for a Breeders’ Cup Sprint hero, she also can count among the produce of a granddaughter the Grade 1 Hollywood Turf Cup winner Continuously.

The new filly’s fourth dam Sweet Tooth was Broodmare of the Year and she is best remembered as the dam of Alydar, a six-time Grade 1 winner who battled Triple Crown winner Affirmed at 2 and 3, then became North America’s leading sire with the highest stud fee in the bluegrass while standing at Calumet Farm in Lexington, Kentucky.

Owner-breeder J. R. Barros plants a big kiss on the face of Fast Look following Group 1 triumph.

Fast Look has the brilliance to go with the paper.

Fast Look's introduction to racing came in a “pencas,” which is a non-pari-mutuel match race in which owners bet against each other. Commonplace in Brazil and Argentina, pencas are holdovers from the ranchero days when big land owners would clear a path on their vast “haras” (stud farms) to conduct races over 2 to 3 ½ furlongs.

In the modern era, pencas serve as major entertainment for owners, gamblers and fans. Usually conducted with 2 to 4 horses, the pencas are usually run down a straightaway on private grounds; however in the case of Fast Look, her pencas was run at a recognized racetrack.

Racing 3 ½ furlongs in the trial and the final of the Turfe Paranaense, which is the most lucrative and prestigious of all the pencas in Brazil, Fast Look debuted on February 18 in a field of 4 and skipped home under wraps by a length and a half. She returned the following day to zip home 3 lengths in front, recording a sensational clocking on deep dirt of :38.80, which was a track record and the equivalent of 3 furlongs in :32 and change and a half in :44 and change.

A year later as a 3-year-old, Fast Look made her 3-year-old debut on February 17 facing a field of 9 sprinting 5 furlongs on firm turf. She reported home 1 ¼ lengths clear, eased down from quite a long ways out, and stopped the teletimer in a gaudy :54.88, the fastest time during the 2006-2007 Southern Hemisphere racing season.

Two months later the filly was sent off as the 7 to 5 favorite to beat seasoned horses in a Group 3 sprint contested on heavy turf.

Stepping into Graded company on a rain-soaked course listed as “heavy.” Fast Look showed her same brand of fine speed until the final 75 yards, when she completely ran out of gas to finish fourth in what would prove to be the lone blot on her resume.

Multiple Graded stakes winner Inexplicable sired Fast Look.

“The filly had been trained from day one at the owner’s farm,” explained Barry Irwin “and since she had done nothing but win, her connections figured it was all right.

“Following the shock defeat, Fast Look was moved to the racetrack. She improved and was primed to run next time.”

Three weeks later, Fast Look returned, this time stepping way up in class to face 13 accomplished sprinters going 5 furlongs, again on a wet race course, for the Group I International Gran Premio ABCPCC.

Fast Look went to the front again, but this time she looked much stronger and handled the surface infinitely better. The field broke into two groups. Racing on the far side against the largest contingent of competitors, Fast Look easily opened up a wide margin.

The runner-up finished on the stands side, completely out of view of Fast Look, who officially won by 3 ¼ lengths, but had twice that margin to spare over the 8 rivals on her side of the course.

Among those finishing in the 3-year-old filly’s wake were the following:

• Kik Malo - the best sprinter in Sao Paulo, was coming from 7 wins in a row before that.
• Xabega - Champion sprinter and winner of this same G1 race last year.
• New Hampshire - Group winner and still the record holder for the distance (5 furlongs on turf) in Brazil.
• Normabelle - multiple stakes winner and second, by a nose in the Group 1 Gran Premio International Rio Sprint last season.
• Dama da Arte - stakes winner and champion on “pencas” circuit.
• Karlo Guitar - Group winner and G1 placed, sent to Dubai in 2005/2006.
• Quarter Buck - undefeated pencas winner until this race.
• Carburado - pencas and stakes winner.
• Quartiere - Group winner in Rio.

Fast Look has a lot of room for physical improvement with maturity.

“This is a remarkable racehorse,” Barry Irwin said. “She was the fastest pencas runner of her era, setting a track record at a real racetrack, while running on deep dirt. She ran 5 furlongs on turf listed as ‘good’ in a sensational :54.88. And she beat the best sprinters in the land on turf listed as ‘heavy.’ They say a good horse can run over anything including sticks and stone and hot coals, and this filly is the proof in the pudding.”

Fast Look will be sent to trainer Marty Wolfson in Miami, Florida. This will be the first horse sent to Wolfson since the late 1990s, when Team Valor had a falling out with the conditioner.

“Marty is a brilliant horseman, unquestionably one of the most gifted in the game,” said Barry Irwin.

“Marty is situated in a locale where speed is catered to and we think we will be sending him a tool he can work with. There are tons of good sprints in Florida and Marty is brilliant when it comes to shipping out of town for major engagements.

Fast Look will go to Marty Wolfson.

“Maybe the best horse ever trained by Marty was the wonderful filly Chaposa Springs, who he shipped to Saratoga to claim the Grade 1 Test and Grade 1 Ballerina Stakes.

“He won the Breeders’ Cup last year with a fixer-upper in the former Bill Mott runner Miesque’s Approval.”

Irwin said the key reasons he wants to send Fast Look to Wolfson are that a) he is a hands-on trainer with no divisions, b) the climate in Florida has proven to be an ideal locale to acclimate horses from South America, c) he expects the filly to be sent around the country and Wolfson is one of the best shippers in the business and d) if the filly has a chance to run farther than sprints, Wolfson is an out-of-the-box original thinker who will give Fast Look her best opportunity.

“Do not think that because we are sending Fast Look to Florida that she is not a high-class racing prospect,” warned Barry Irwin. “Because of the time of year the filly will arrive in the United States, it makes sense to start her off in a warm climate.

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