Turnerloose took command at the top of the stretch on her way to posting a two-and-a-half length victory in the $75,000 Luther Burbank Stakes at Santa Rosa on Saturday, 3 Aug.
The victory marked the third Stakes win for the five-year-old Nyquist mare; she was a Listed winner as a juvenile, and she captured the G2 Rachel Alexandra Stakes her sophomore season.
A compact field of five fillies and mares went to the post in the Luther Burbank, and it was Leisurewear that went to the front to set the pace. She was followed closely by Grace Period, with Turnerloose content to race well off the pace in third as she saved ground along the rail.
Entering the far turn Leisurewear continued to cling to a half-length lead over Grace Period, as Turnerloose began to rapidly cut into their lead. Swung to the outside for a clear run, Turnerloose swept past the longtime leaders and took the lead at the top of the stretch before pulling away to win easily. Delusively closed for second, with Grace Period holding on for third.
Bred in Kentucky by William Humphries and Altair Farms LLC, Turnerloose is out of the mare Goaltending, an unraced daughter of A.P. Indy. Goaltending’s dam, Game Face, was a multiple Graded Stakes winner, with victories coming in the G1 Princess Rooney, G2 Inside Information and G2 Honorable Miss Stakes.
Nyquist is having yet another impressive year at stud, led by G1 winners Johannes (G1 Shoemaker Mile, G2 Eddie Read) and Randomized (G1 Ogden Phipps Stakes). Additional Stakes winners include Studlydoright (Tremont Stakes), Encino (G3 Stonestreet Lexington S.) and undefeated Nysos (G3 Robert B. Lewis, G3 Bob Hope S.).
