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Princess Taylor, making just her second American start and first for
Paddy Gallagher, took command right from the start in hopes of snapping
a 16-race losing streak dating back to September 2008. In light of the
fact that she had not managed to crack the top three since last July,
she was overlooked at 16-1 in the wagering. Princess Taylor almost
pulled the upset, aided by pedestrian fractions of :25 2/5, :49 4/5,
1:14 2/5 and 1:38 2/5. She could not stave off the late bid of Turning
Top, but held second to reward her loyalists with $13.40 and $10.
“There was no speed in the race, and our plan was to go right to the lead,”
Joe Talamo recapped of his ride aboard Princess Taylor. “She ran a winning race;
she really did. When Brice’s horse came up outside, she even fought back pretty
good. It was a good effort on her part.”
The 7-1 Restless Soul (GB) (Singspiel [Ire]) reported home another 1 1/4
lengths back in third and yielded $5.40. Princess Haya (Street Cry [Ire]) kept
on for a one-paced fourth, rounding out the superfecta at 5-1. General Consensus
(Giant’s Causeway) was hammered into 4-5 favoritism on the strength of her
placed efforts behind Tuscan Evening (Ire) (Oasis Dream [GB]), but could get up
only for fifth after lagging far off the pace. Catsalot (Momentum), Pretty
Katherine (Vindication) and Lady Francesca (GB) (Montjeu [Ire]) completed the
order under the wire.
Turning Top was coming off a successful stakes debut in the one-mile Redondo
Beach S. on June 5, where she fought to prevail by a head. Her two previous
scores took place in allowance/optional claiming company, the first by a nose at
Santa Anita in April and the second by a neck at Hollywood in May. Originally
based in England, the dark bay was confined to handicap company once breaking
her maiden at Warwick last summer. She mostly raced from seven furlongs to a
mile there, and kept plying her trade in the vicinity of a mile since arriving
in the United States over the winter. With this first graded coup, her scorecard
reads 15-6-1-3, $171,943.
“I had this filly over there — she won a couple of races for me in England,”
Callaghan said. “She loves fast ground, but she really didn’t get the
opportunity to show it. She’s pretty straightforward, this filly. She relaxes
and gives herself every chance to get the trip. She has all the attributes to do
well here.
“It’s great to get a graded win for Michael Tabor. He’s been a very loyal
supporter of my father (retired trainer Neville Callaghan) for many years and
he’s always been willing to support me. I’m still relatively young, and I
thought it was the right time (to come to the United States). I worked for Todd
Pletcher and really enjoyed it. A lot of my owners are European-based, but they
have horses with Pletcher and a few other trainers here so they suggested it
(the move) to me. This is where I see my future.”
Bred by Barouche Stud Ireland, Turning Top was produced by the Irish
stakes-placed Pietra Dura (GB) (Cadeaux Genereux). Turning Top’s second dam,
Irish highweight juvenile filly Bianca Nera (Salse), garnered the 1996 Moyglare
Stud S. (Ire-G1) and Lowther S. (Eng-G2). Bianca Nera is a half-sister to
multiple Group 1-placed Hotelgenie Dot Com (Selkirk), the dam of multiple Group
1-winning miler and classic-placed Simply Perfect (GB) (Danehill). This is also
the family of Great Deeds (Forzando [GB]), Ireland’s highweight three-year-old
sprinter of 1994.
Turning Top’s smart family helped boost her yearling price to $814,797 at
Tattersalls October in 2007.