Pedigree

Visionaire may have a difficult time seeing out the 1 1/4-mile trip, judging by his pedigree. His sire, Grand Slam, was a high-class individual who never managed to win going two turns. A son of the smart miler Gone West, Grand Slam equaled the Belmont track record of 1:03 for 5 1/2 furlongs in his debut as a two-year-old in 1997. Later that season, the Wayne Lukas pupil captured the Futurity S. (G1) and Champagne S. (G1), but he was injured and eased in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) when a rival clipped his heels, inflicting a nasty gash on his left hind leg. After returning from that setback, Grand Slam recorded just one victory from 10 starts, and it is debatable whether he was quite the same horse. His lone sophomore success came in the one-turn, 1 1/8-mile Peter Pan S. (G2) at Belmont Park. Grand Slam concluded his career by cutting back to six furlongs in the 1998 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1), where he finished a rallying second. At stud, Grand Slam has sired first-rate speedsters like Cajun Beat, winner of the 2003 Breeders' Cup Sprint, as well as others capable of lasting 1 1/8 miles, including multiple Grade 2 victors Limehouse and Strong Hope. Grand Slam is responsible for one notable winner at the 1 1/4-mile distance -- Cafe Olympus, who landed the 2004 Japan Dirt Derby. His progeny have compiled an Average Winning Distance of 6.8 furlongs.

Visionaire is out of the stakes-placed French Deputy mare Scarlet Tango, who won four times, but never beyond six furlongs. Her career highlight was a runner-up effort in the 2000 Laura Gal S. at Laurel as a juvenile, finishing within a length of future champion Xtra Heat. Scarlet Tango is herself a half-sister to stakes-winning sprinter Dale's Prospect (Pioneering). She is by Grade 2-winning miler French Deputy, a lightly raced son of Deputy Minister. As his offspring's Average Winning Distance of 7.1 furlongs suggests, they have been successful at a range of distances. French Deputy's leading performers, the Japanese champion Kurofune and American Eclipse Award winner Left Bank, were versatile. Kurofune captured major events from one mile to 1 5/16 miles, while the ill-fated Left Bank showed dazzling speed from seven furlongs to 1 1/8 miles. French Deputy is beginning to make his mark as a broodmare sire, with his daughters producing Grade 2 sprint star Songster (Songandaprayer) and this year's Hutcheson S. (G2) winner Smooth Air (Smooth Jazz), along with fellow Grade 2 heroes Notional (In Excess [Ire]) and Delightful Kiss (Kissin Kris).

Visionaire hails from a speed-oriented female line, which may serve to reinforce that dimension of both Grand Slam and French Deputy. His second dam, 10-time stakes queen Silver Tango (Silver Badge), was a hardy campaigner on the Mid-Atlantic circuit. From 47 starts, the Maryland-bred visited the winner's circle 17 times, and all but one of those victories came in sprints. She is transmitting that speed to her offspring. Of her six winners, five are pure sprinters. Silver Tango is the product of rather plebeian parentage, which does not enhance Visionaire's Kentucky Derby (G1) prospects.