We caught up with Valkyrie spokesman and trainer Minske Mavecci this afternoon, now that the Year Seventeen Awards have officially been announced. Along with Encouragement Awards for the Frontier colt Night Terror and Foolish Lad son Laddie Luck, Valkyrie received awards for Sire to Watch (Alucard, co-received with Aquatic Addiction), Mare to Watch (Dare to Impress), and, for the second year in a row, both Best Sprinter Male and Sprinter of the Year. The honors went this year to the son of Flying Colours and Livin' The Dream, Optical Illusion. Last year the awards went to Alucard, a rare son of Scripture's Sapphire, after the colt changed to Valkyrie silks for his four-year-old season before reaching a high level at five. When asked how this year's awards stacked up to last year's, the young trainer was all smiles. "It's so much more gratifying. Alucard we received basically begging to take the next step. Stride of Perfection did a lot of the work with him, and he'd had so much experience in classy company that it was just a natural progression for him to assert himself the way he did. Optical Illusion was ours from the get-go, and we could only hope that that Star Thoroughbreds bloodline would prove worth the purchase. Obviously it did."

Optical Illusion, on top of his champion season last year, was also a strong competitor at two and three. At two he finished second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, and at three he proved that you didn't have to race 20+ times in a season to make a mark. The colt ran seven times, at varying levels of difficulty, leading up to the July Week Four start to the Turf Triple Sprinter Crown. He then won the Turquoise Sprint and the Highway Stakes before being defeated and running third in the Superstar Sprint.

While Optical Illusion was an exceptional horse, success in the Sprinter Crowns and Tiaras has become commonplace rather than an exception for the Valkyrie team. In recent years, they have had wins with Luminous Wave (Y16 So Sassy Sprint, TTST), Toss Up (Y17 Speedway Stakes, TSC), and Wings of Jayde (Y17 So Sassy Sprint, TTST) as well as Optical Illusion's accomplishments. Along with those wins came a slew of second and third places in recent years as well. Phantasm Frost was one of the most notable, running second to Call Me Crooked in every leg of the TTSC, creating a rivalry for the ages. They also had Bowen Arrow (3rd Y13 Superstar Sprint, TTSC), Spitterfly (2nd Y15 Daisy Stakes & Butter Cup Sprint, TTST), Valine (2nd Y15 Shining Stakes & 3rd Starshine Sprint, TST), Luminous Wave (2nd Y16 Daisy Stakes, TTST & Starshine Sprint, TST), Toss Up (2nd Y17 Red Wine Sprint & 3rd Tick Tock Sprint, TSC), and Wings of Jayde (2nd Y17 Daisy Stakes & 3rd Butter Cup Sprint, TTST).

The other series have been a draw from the hat year to year, it seems, for the growing stable. But their presence in the Sprinter Crowns continues to grow, and the trend doesn't appear to be slowing down. Though they have a smaller three-year-old crop in Y18 than they've had previously, they still have the dirt sprinter frontrunner The Good Fight, who already has a win this year. And for the future? "Well, it's obviously hard to tell anything at this point with the juveniles being so new. But we've got three true sprinters right now and they've all broken their maidens, so to say we're excited would be an understatement."

While it might not be a legacy they were expecting, it seems to be building. And what's next for the two big stallions? "Alucard's booked up for now. We likely won't get a foal out of him for awhile, but he's got two on the ground out of Loud and Clear and Moondance. Optical Illusion's a bit more open, and we know for sure he's going to see Feline Frenzy in the next few years. He's got a filly out of Beltane on the ground now, and she's a strong-looking thing. We're really excited to see what they'll do from here."