3 minute read

Va Bank, the unbeaten Polish Horse of the Year with a better winning streak than Australian champion Winx, has been purchased by Team Valor International with a view to the 2017 Melbourne Cup.

Va Bank recently extended his record to a perfect 12-for-12 with a stirring success in the G3 Preis der Sparkassen Finanzgruppe at Baden-Baden in Germany on August 27.

Bred in Ireland by Airlie Stud, Va Bank was acquired by Bobby O’Ryan for €4500 at the 2013 Tattersalls Ireland Sale and was sent to Poland to be trained by Maciej Janikowski for owner Janusz Zienkiewicz.

He won each of his three starts at two in Warsaw in 2014 and went a perfect five-for-five in 2015, including a sweep of the Polish Triple Crown and a season-ending win in the Wielka Warszawska, the nation’s most prestigious weight-for-age event.

He picked up where he left off this term, with three wins at home before his win in the 2000m test at Baden-Baden.

He will continue to be trained by Janikowski in Warsaw.

“I have always maintained that a good horse can come from anywhere and when a horse is unbeaten, nobody knows where it is likely to level off,” Irwin said.

“This is a serious racehorse, he has a tremendous turn of foot and he has a ton of heart.

“We tried and failed to buy him after he had won his last race in Poland. After he won in Germany, we redoubled our efforts and were able to get the deal done.”

Current plans call for Va Bank to defend his title in the Wielka Warszawska on October 2 but Irwin is entertaining loftier ideas.

“I will be mindful of giving the colt his best chance to maintain his unbeaten record,” Irwin said,

“We will experiment with him over more ground to find out if he has the stamina to target the Melbourne Cup.”