Two months-and-one-day ago, Winning Move Stable’s Chilean tank, Turco Bravo, flattened his opponents in the Stymie Stakes at Aqueduct, the second time in two consecutive years.
Trainer, Gary Contessa, had confidence in the magnificent elder statesman and his ability to do back-to-back victories in the same race. As usual, Gary’s intuition was on-target.
Clearly, this South American gelded son of Irish sire, Caesarion (by Chilean, Turkish Queen) displayed no desire to retire and eat grass all day. At least in March…
And if anyone wondered back in March if the seven-year-old, proverbial “old boy” may be thinking of hanging up his tack—wonder no more. Today at Belmont, Turco Bravo beautifully won the inaugural Flat Out Stakes. The $100,000, 1 3/8 mile race on dirt was run by six horses, 4YO and upward.
Turco Bravo was bred in Chile by Haras Carioca; artfully ridden by Javier Castellano and is owned by Winning Move Stable. His beautiful musculature and smooth locomotion as he runs would fool all-but the most-seasoned of racing fans into assuming that he’s a three-year-old. If Turco Bravo is “old”—apparently, he’s not aware of it. Or maybe he just doesn’t care.
When asked for a quote about the brave, beautiful horse, Gary delivered this succinct, warm note of admiration for his stakes-winning pal:
“There is something special about training an old professional war horse. Winning a stake with Turco Bravo is incredibly special because he is a wise, cool old dude. A good friend.”
I love that word, “Wisdom”: King Solomon was given the choice of either Wisdom or money. He chose Wisdom—the gift that keeps on giving—and God gave him both. I love the word, Wisdom, especially when applied to a horse. Gary knows horses like the back of his hand, so he understands that, yes, Wisdom—so hard to define, yet so necessary for a whole, holistic and fulfilling Life—may well have originated within the spirit of the equine species.
Turco Bravo is wise, he is cool. His age has nothing to do with his racing abilities—obviously. His Wisdom—that is, his innate ability to intuitively know the course, his rider and the situation—is the very domain of those with a few years under their belts. (Think about it: have you ever heard of a 15-year-old being called, “wise”?)
Ageism in horse racing is just as prevalent as in the human world—but with the popularity and successes of exquisite fighters like Turco Bravo chewing up Big Sandy, we may be witnessing the end of such prejudice against older horses.
Bravo, Turco Bravo! Andelante!