Turbulent Descent captures Ballerina in debut for Pletcher
barn
Turbulent Descent was making her debut for the Todd Pletcher shedrow on
Friday and gave her new barn, and connections, a win in the Grade 1, $500,000
Ballerina Stakes at Saratoga. With John Velazquez taking over riding duties
from regular jockey David Flores, the bay miss finished 1 1/4 lengths in front
of a game Derwin’s Star to stop the clock in 1:22 for seven furlongs over the
fast main track.
Previously based in California with trainer Mike Puype, Turbulent Descent was
sold to Coolmore’s Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith. She was
subsequently transferred to Pletcher following an easy 1 1/4-length victory in
her 2012 bow, the June 17 Desert Stormer at Hollywood Park.
“It’s sort of rare you have an opportunity to buy a multiple Grade 1-winning
filly with some races left and some opportunities,” Pletcher explained. “While
it was certainly a fair price, it was still a lot of money. We felt based on her
record there wasn’t much downside.
“We talked about a couple of races, and this was one of them. So now, you’re
talking about a filly that’s a Grade 1 winner at two, three and four, and it’s
pretty rare. Those are the kinds of mares you’d love to have in your broodmare
band when their racing career is over.”
Despite spending the majority of her career racing on the West Coast, the
four-year-old daughter of Congrats was sent off the 2-5 favorite in the
Ballerina and returned $2.90, $2.50 and $2.10 for Friday’s score.
“I thought she ran well,” Pletcher remarked. “Sometimes the hardest races to
win are the ones you’re expected to. We were just hoping to stay out of trouble.
We wanted to be patient and not move too soon.
“Johnny (Velazquez) said she got a bit of a bump in the middle of the turn
over there and she kind of grabbed him and took off a little sooner than he
wanted to. She seems like the kind of filly that, once she makes the lead, tends
to wait a little bit, which we anticipated, but we’re happy she got it done.”
Turbulent Descent settled just in behind pacesetter All Due Respect through
opening fractions of :23 and :45 1/5, with Nicole H and Island Bound running in
tandem to her inside. The latter filly faded badly nearing the turn as Nicole H
and Turbulent Descent both move up to the outside of All Due Respect. Those
three raced together for a brief moment before Turbulent Descent asserted her
class and began drawing off.
“The only thing we were a little concerned about today was being on the
outside with her not being able to get behind horses,” Velazquez said. “She can
get pretty aggressive, but she relaxed a little bit the first part of the race.
Turning for home we kind of bumped with the horse inside of us, and she got into
the bridle a little bit earlier than I had hoped for, but she still ran a great
race.”
Derwin’s Star put in a nice rally from the rear of the field but could never
catch the winner while finishing three parts of a length in front of All Due
Respect on the line.
“(Trainer) Steve (Klesaris) has done such an amazing job with this filly,”
praised jockey David Cohen, who had piloting duties aboard Derwin’s Star. “He
claimed her for $10,000 at (Laurel Park) and has won more than $400,000 with
her. I definitely thought I had a chance. We were sitting chilly the whole way.
We cut the corner and got to slingshot out at the top of the lane. The winner
was just amazing today.”
Belle of the Hall also came from the back of the group to complete the
superfecta when 4 1/2 lengths in front of Nicole H. on the wire. Island Bound
wound up last, and It’s Tricky was withdrawn in favor of running in Sunday’s
Grade 1 Personal Ensign Invitational going nine furlongs.
Turbulent Descent was no stranger to Saratoga before Friday, having captured
the Grade 1 Test last August by 3 3/4 lengths. Prior to that seven-furlong
contest the filly ran second in the Grade 1 Acorn at Belmont Park and posted a
five-length romp in the Grade 2 Beaumont at Keeneland. The latter event was her
first try outside of California, where the Florida-bred miss racked up scores in
the Grade 1 Hollywood Starlet and Moccasin as a juvenile before opening her
sophomore campaign with a second in the Grade 1 Las Virgenes and a neck victory
in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks.
Following the Test, Turbulent Descent tried to add Breeders’ Cup glory to her
resume, but finished fifth in the Filly & Mare Sprint at Churchill Downs in
early November. Puype gave her one more chance to close out the year on a
winning note, but the bay lass could do no better than sixth in the Grade 1 La
Brea on New Year’s Eve.
With the Ballerina now under her girth, Turbulent Descent has joined the
millionaire’s club, banking $1,201,640 in career earnings to go along with her
12-8-2-0 mark. The score also earned her an automatic berth in this year’s
Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, which will be held at Santa Anita on November
2. According to her new trainer, she could enter that event off just this race.
“Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, probably,” he said when asked about her
next start. “It’s possible she may run back at Belmont in between, but we’ll see
how she bounces out of this.”
Bred by Ocala Stud, Turbulent Descent initially sold for $160,000 as an OBS
April two-year-old in training. She is out of the unraced Forestry mare Roger’s
Sue, who is a half-sister to dual Grade 3-placed Bonay.
Turbulent Descent’s third dam is the Slew o’ Gold mare Gorgeous, who earned
more than $1.7 million on track while scoring in such contests as the Grade 1
Ashland, Grade 1 Vanity Invitational Handicap and Grade 1 Hollywood Oaks. The
dark bay mare also ran second to Bayakoa in the 1989 Breeders’ Cup Distaff
before going on the next year to beat that dual champion in the Grade 2 Apple
Blossom Handicap.
Gorgeous would find success in the breeding shed as well as on track,
producing Group 2-placed listed winner Stunning and the dams of Grade 1 queen
Swift Temper and English Group 1-winning highweight Music Show.
Gorgeous is herself a daughter of Broodmare of the Year and Canadian champion
Kamar, who also foaled Canadian champion Key to the Moon and Grade 1 Kentucky
Oaks queen Seaside Attraction. The latter is the dam of multiple Grade 1 diva
Golden Attraction and Grade 1-winning sire Cape Town.
Other Kamar descendants include multiple Grade 1 heroine Flashing, winner of
the 2009 Test; and international star Fantastic Light, Europe’s Horse of the
Year, an American champion turf horse, a highweight in Ireland and a UAE
highweight.
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