A P Valentine


A P Valentine was a Grade I-winning Thoroughbred racehorse sired by A.P. Indy out of an Alydar mare, Twenty Eight Carat. His name was derived by splicing the beginning of his sire's name "A P" with the holiday that he was born on, "Valentine's Day".

Two-year-old campaign

Trained by Nick Zito and owned by Celtic Pride Stable, a partnership led by Rick Pitino, A P Valentine began his racing career at Saratoga with a third-place finish in a maiden special weight. In his next start at Belmont, he broke his maiden race in a dominant performance winning by over four lengths.
Zito was so impressed by A P Valentine's performance in breaking his maiden, that he entered him in the Grade I Champagne Stakes at Belmont. The horse did not disappoint, squeezing by eventual American Horse of the Year, Point Given on the rail and pulling away to win by 1-3/4 lengths.
Following the Champagne, Coolmore purchased the breeding rights to AP Valentine for $15.1 million.
He made his final start of 2000 in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs. While he went off as the favorite, he was never a factor and came home in last place.

Three-year-old campaign

He began his three-year-old campaign at Gulfstream where he was upset in an allowance race. In his next start, A P Valentine managed not only to win but to break the track record for at Hialeah, romping by 3-3/4 lengths in an optional claimer. For A P Valentine, that would be the last victory of his career that spanned three years.
In his three-year-old stakes debut in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland Race Course, he was not a factor and ran fifth. He turned in yet another lackluster performance in the Kentucky Derby before regaining the form he showed as a two-year-old with runner-up performances to Point Given in both the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes.
In the Preakness Stakes, he was a lukewarm 10–1 fourth choice in the morning line. A P Valentine faced a premium field of stakes winners that included Kentucky Derby Winner Monarchos, eventual Horse-of-the-Year Point Given, Derby runner-up Invisible Ink, multi-millionaire Congaree, Blue Grass Stakes runner-up Dollar Bill and local favorite Richly Blended. At the start of the race he was shuffled back by jockey Victor Espinoza as they passed the grandstand the first time around. Richly Blended and Congaree led most of the race. He raced seventh in a field of eleven during most of the early race. With three and a half furlongs to go A P Valentine split horses weaving his way through traffic while Point Given and Monarchos looped the field wide. At the top of the stretch Point Given took the lead and widened it to win by two lengths. A P Valentine bore down and was able to outfinish Congaree down the lane by a half length to win second place money of $200,000. Derby winner Monarchos faded to be no factor.
In the summer of 2001, he ran in the Jim Dandy Stakes, finishing fourth after losing a battle with Congaree for the show position. He followed with another fourth in the Travers Stakes.
AP Valentine made one final start in his career, the Jockey Club Gold Cup, a race that would be his only career race against older horses. After finishing in sixth, 29.5 lengths behind the winner, AP Valentine was retired. He finished his career with a record of three wins, three places and two shows in 13 starts and $864,170 in earnings.

Retirement

Following his retirement, he was shipped to Coolmore's Ashford Stud in Versailles, Kentucky where he stood for a fee of $15,000.
In his first year at stud, A P Valentine was discovered to have fertility issues, which led to Coolmore retiring him from stud duty. However, after working with a fertility specialist, he was put back into stud duty and sent to Cedar Creek Farm in Brenham, Texas.
Finally, in July 2006, Higgie, a two-year old A P Valentine filly out of a mare named Aces won a five furlong maiden claimer at Monmouth Park.
A P Valentine stood at Cedar Creek with a stud fee of $5,000 until 2018, when he was moved to Old Friends Equine in Georgetown, Kentucky. He was euthanized due to complications from colic on September 1, 2018.

Races

FinishRaceDistanceTrackDate
6thJockey Club Gold CupOne and One-Quarter MilesBelmont ParkOctober 4, 2001
4thTravers StakesOne and One-Quarter MilesSaratoga Race CourseAugust 25, 2001
4thJim Dandy StakesOne and One-Eight MilesSaratoga Race CourseAugust 4, 2001
2ndBelmont StakesOne and One-Half MilesBelmont ParkJune 9, 2001
2ndPreakness StakesOne and Three-Sixteenths MilesPimlico Race CourseMay 19, 2001
7thKentucky DerbyOne and One-Quarter MilesChurchill DownsMay 5, 2001
5thBlue Grass StakesOne and One-Eighth MilesKeeneland Race CourseApril 21, 2001
1stAllowance Optional ClaimingOne and One-Sixteenth MilesHialeah ParkMarch 24, 2001
3rdAllowanceSeven FurlongsGulfstream ParkFebruary 17, 2001
14thBreeders' Cup JuvenileOne and One-Sixteenth MilesChurchill DownsNovember 4, 2000
1stChampagne StakesOne and One-Sixteenth MilesSaratoga Race CourseOctober 14, 2000
1stMaiden Special WeightBelmont ParkSeptember 23, 2000
3rdMaiden Special WeightSaratoga Race CourseSeptember 4, 2000

Breeding