Team Valor purchases maiden winner Tulira's Star

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Tulira’s Star, an impressive debut-winning 2-year-old filly at Arlington, was purchased by Team Valor this week and will be turned over to trainer Rick Mettee.

Unveiled by trainer Jim DiVito in the third race here June 8, Tulira’s Star pressed the early pace and drew off to win a maiden race by 3 1/2 lengths, running 4 1/2 furlongs on Polytrack in 52.36 seconds. The raw time produced a Beyer Speed Figure of 88, the second-highest 2-year-old Beyer so far in 2014.

"I really liked the way she won,” said Team Valor CEO Barry Irwin. “She is very athletic and tractable, with no deviation watching the head-on, which is quite unusual for a first-time starter. She has a nice pedigree, and although she won on the Polytrack, she is bred for the dirt.”

Tulira’s Star will be based at the Fair Hill training center in Maryland, and Irwin said she is being pointed for the Schuylerville Stakes at Saratoga.

Bred and previously owned by Curtis Green, Tulira’s Star is by Congrats and out of Tulira and is a half-sister to the graded stakes-winning sprinter Mountain General and, more recently, stakes winner Tulira’s Castle.