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Hall of Fame - Silver Valor
Original article written by Leigh Ann Anderson posted 16 years 0 weeks agoHall of Fame inductee, Silver Valor, was connected to many of the very best that the Sim has to offer. His trainer was one of the best trainers, Jennifer Stewart. His dam, Lady's Secret, was Broodmare of the Year. His sire, Silver Charm, continues to show up the the pedigrees of great horses. And his breeder needs no introduction, being the backbone and brainchild behind the Sim, Emily Hufford Shields (aka The Steward).
As a sire, Silver Charm proved he could get the “big horse” by siring ten millionaires. Some familiar names among his progeny include Onwardsilvercharm, Tremendous Echo, as well as Silver Valor's full siblings Symbol and Mirror. While his record as a sire isn't spectacular (52 winners from 169 foals to race), the average earnings was a very hefty $208,227.
Lady's Secret produced fifteen foals all together with having been sired by Silver Charm. Silver Valor was the product of the second mating from this pair, with the other full siblings (in birth order) Silver's Secret, Symbol, Cheer, Mirror and Equation. Of her fifteen foals, eleven were winners and four earned over a million dollars on the racetrack. Lady's Secret was given the Simmy for Broodmare of the Year.
Jennifer Stewart was the winning bidder on Silver Valor at the Trial by Summer Yearling Sale. At the time there was only one session of yearlings auctioned by The Steward.
Silver Valor only raced once as a 2 year old, winning a 7 furlong maiden race at Oceanside Racetrack. It would be this three year old campaign that could catapult him into the Hall of Fame. Beginning in week 1 with the G2 Single Star Derby, the black colt would win 4 graded stakes races before finishing his career in one of the biggest match races seen in the Sim. In week 5 Silver Valor took the G2 Flamingo Stakes. Unfortunately, injury in the form of a bruised hoof would keep him out of the first two races in the Triple Crown, but in week 6 he won the Long Island Classic by 22 lengths, over a field that included two horses that would go on to win over a million dollars, proving that Silver Valor was an extremely talented colt. This is the largest winning margin for the 1 ½ mile Classic by any horse in the Sim. After a four week rest, Silver Valor was on the track again, winning the G1 Super Derby, this time only two trainers sent entries against Stewart's undefeated colt, neither proved to have the class to match him.
By the end of year 6, there had been increasing pressure to card a match race. While Silver Valor had been winning his races, a filly named Forever Risk had shown her heels to all who dared to face her, colts and fillies alike. Forever Risk (Priceless Forever x Genuine Risk) was closing in on $2 million in earnings, having won eight stakes races: the Nursery Stakes, the Twin Spires Stakes, The Kentucky Cup Juvenile, the Matron Stakes, the Bonnie Miss, the Louisville Oaks, the Baltimore Crown (against colts), and the Ruffian Handicap (against older fillies and mares), as well as her first start, a maiden special weight.
Jess Paquette and Jennifer Stewart were able to agree on a final race for their champion three year olds to be run at the classic distance of 1 ¼ miles at Arcadia Park during week 12. This race was billed as the “Match of the Decade” and obviously only one horse would retain their undefeated record. Sadly for Stewart, her colt was unable to beat the filly, and Forever Risk claimed the perfect record at the end of the day. Silver Valor was awarded the Simmy for Champion Three Year Old Colt, and would later be induced into the Hall of Fame; Forever Risk would be named Horse of the Year, Three Year Old Filly and be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
After the match race, Silver Valor was retired to stud. He was a good sire, getting 76 foals of whom 38 were winners. Eight of his foals were stakes winners. Briliancefindsaway (out of Forever Risk) was his best earner, accumulating $3,792,000 and this sire line is still available through Storm a Fortress, among others. All together, Silver Valor's offspring earned just under $12 million dollars on the track and interestingly his best progeny were all males, with his top earning filly bringing home just over $250,000. There are 152 foals who trace to Silver Valor through his status as a dam sire, 77 are winners, and 9 are stakes winners.