Turkish marches to victory in Valedictory

Marathon Run led through an opening quarter in :25, but dropped back abruptly

and was eased by the time the field passed the stands for the first time in the

Polytrack marathon. Quiet Country inherited the pacesetting role and established

fractions of :50 2/5, 1:17, 1:45 and 2:11 1/5.

Turkish, who had been keeping a watchful eye in second, was driven on by

Emma-Wayne Wilson rounding the final turn. Spurting clear at the 1 1/2-mile mark

in 2:34 3/5, the gelded son of Istan extended his margin to three lengths in

midstretch. Royal Blessing commenced a rally from the rear of the field and made

great headway inside the final furlong, forcing Turkish to demonstrate his

resolve. The winner proved up to the challenge, kept his neck in front at the

wire, and finished 1 3/4 miles in 3:02.

"He really seems to have come into himself," Wilson said. "Every time I ride

him, three-eighths of a mile out I just get him going. He's so big and so long,

it takes a while to get his feet. As long as you give him a nice trip and get

him moving, he's tough to catch.

"I will admit he was getting a little tired in that last eighth of a mile,

but he held on courageously and I'm really proud of him."

"He's a wonderful horse and it's a privilege to be associated with him, Tino

and Emma," Cordes said. "It's my first stakes win in 45 years in the business."

The Kentucky-bred Turkish paid $7.30 to win and boosted his earnings to

$273,407 from his 21-5-4-3 record. The five-year-old was produced by the

Pleasant Tap mare Tresor, a half-sister to French Group 1 scorer Treble.

Turkish thus hails from the family of two-time reigning Prix de l'Arc de

Triomphe queen Treve. His third dam is multiple champion Trillion, the dam of

another multiple champion in Triptych.

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