Smooth Win by Turbulent Descent in the Beaumont
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Trainer Mike Puype could wind up looking like a genius by
year’s end if Turbulent Descent continues to dominate her competition the way
she has in five of her six lifetime starts. After finishing her juvenile season
undefeated in three starts including the Grade 1 Hollywood Starlet many people
had the talented daughter of Congrats pegged as an early Kentucky Oaks favorite.
She began 2011 with a solid second place finish to Zazu in the Grade 1 Las
Virgenes Stakes, appearing a bit short in her three-year-old debut. In her
second start she returned to winning form, holding off Zazu for a comfortable
win in the Santa Anita Oaks (gr.1) on March 5th. That win once again
had people briefly talking Kentucky Oaks before Mike Puype put those
aspirations to rest. After the Santa Anita Derby he stated his star filly would
bypass the Kentucky Oaks in favor of shorter, one turn sprint races that he
felt his she would thrive on and possible be even better at.
Apparently he was right, as Turbulent Descent romped to
victory in her first start outside of California on Sunday, winning Keeneland’s
Grade 2 Beaumont Stakes by 5 lengths with just a couple of taps from the whip.
After tracking the pace in third position in the closely bunched field of five,
Turbulent Descent moved up willingly on the far turn to take command entering
the stretch. From that point on it was just a matter of how far she wanted to
win by as she steadily opened up with little urging, crossing the finish line
five lengths the best. She completed the Beaumont’s 7 furlongs in a solid time
of 1:26.12 over Keeneland’s Polytrack surface.
[Does Turbulent Descent deserve her current #1 ranking on HRN's 3 Year Old Fillies rankings page over Kathmanblu, R Heat Lightning, Joyful Victory and Zazu?
Mike Puype has made no secret of the fact that he is gunning
for an Eclipse award with his brilliant trainee while aiming her for some of
the nation’s premier sophomore filly sprints like the June 11th
Acorn (gr.1) and August 6th Test (gr.1). If she continues running
the way she has been it’s not a stretch to envision her winning an Eclipse. The
last three-year-old filly sprinter to win the Eclipse Award for 3-Year-Old
Filly was Indian Blessing in 2008 and I think Turbulent Descent has the
potential to be the best female sprinter since that great champion.
Tell A Kelly showed none of her well-known late kick in her
three-year-old debut, finishing 4th in the five horse field. Honey
Chile finished second after helping set the pace up front with Gran Lioness.
The Beaumont will probably have very little impact if any on
the Kentucky Oaks, but on the overall sophomore filly picture it could have big
ramifications.
Photo Courtesy of Mathea Kelley
What the Nation is saying about Smooth Win by Turbulent Descent in the Beaumont...
So what that Tell a Kelly came fifth. It's my favorite girl.
Good point. I completely agree. Has Pletcher ruled R Heat Lightning out of the Derby?
She is real good... I don't think it's a huge stretch to say she has the best turn of foot of any three year old. I'd love to see her try a grass race down the road.
I was there yesterday, and I can report that Turbulent Descent was very impressive. It would not be a stretch to consider her the best sophomore filly in the land.
Brian Z, was it me or did TD jump a shadow in the stretch. I saw GP do the same thing i believe a few years back, I hate seeing that, but she must have come out of the race fine.
man she won that for fun. i want to see her meet zazu again, those are always great races between them.
Her little 'jump' reminded me of a picture I had saw of Zarkava, who stretched out to her limit to beat her foes.
• I agree her moment is regal, and every aspect of the filly oozes class, I am glad the connections did what they felt best in not trying to ask her to do too much with regards to stretching out, if she can be a champion mare at 6-8furlongs so be it, there is no knock in that, if a couple of 9f races come up a bit on the soft side, take your chances but if pedigree speaks, its about time that the human connections listen.
She did take an awkward step, Wes. I'm not sure if it was jumping a shadow, or shying away from the crowd, but she quickly was back into a smooth impressive stride.
Meet Brian Appleton
Thoroughbred Horse Racing is my passion. It started when at the age of 9 I found a book called Come On Seabiscuit by Ralf Moody on my Mother’s shelf. Reading that book was one of the most exciting things I ever did as a kid. I read that book so many times that I had entire chapters committed to memory and the dust jacket worn and ripped beyond recognition from so much use. From that point on I was hopelessly addicted, reading every book on horse racing I could get my hands on, especially racehorse biographies.Curlin is probably my favorite racehorse of all time. Being able to attend six of his races will always be one of the highlights of my life. Whenever I need to re-find some inspiration in my life all I need to do I watch one of his incredible victories and relive the memories. As any horse racing fan will tell you it’s almost impossible to choose just one favorite and I am no exception. Phar Lap and Citation are another two of my all time favorites and the list could go on and on.
I was homeschooled my entire life by my parents and graduated High School in 2006 at the age of 17. I have done several years of community college in mostly general courses and one semester at a university as a Communications major. Currently I am pursuing a Marketing degree with the hopes of entering the Thoroughbred Horse Racing field as a writer or journalist, or in the marketing/advertising/promotions side of the industry. You can visit my origanal blog, Rail Runner, here. I am the youngest of three children and I have the two most incredible parents in the world. I also have a wonderful brother and sister-in-law as well as three absolutely adorable nephews.