A Look Back at Best Turn's Queens County

In conjunction with Tom Hall's Throwback Thursday features in BloodHorse Daily, BloodHorse.com each Thursday will present corresponding race stories from the pages of the magazine. This week is a recap of the 1970 Queens County Handicap at Aqueduct Racetrack, written by William H. Rudy with the headline " Best Turn Wins Queens County" from the Nov. 21, 1970 issue.

Best Turn is a big horse. He is big physically, big in trainer Reggie Cornell’s future, and big in the long-range plans of Calumet Farm. When Best Turn is through racing, Calumet owner Mrs. Gene Markey plans to give the son of *Turn-to—Sweet Clementine, by Swaps, a chance at stud.

Recently, he has been carrying the load for Calumet at the track, but he hurt a foot in the Queens County Handicap and has been sent from New York to Florida.

On Oct. 24, he won the $50,000-added Vosburgh Handicap at seven furlongs. Then, by way of keeping in trim, he took a one-mile allowance race in preparation for the nine-furlong Queens County Handicap on Nov. 14. He won that $50,000-added race with a fine surge from behind.

The Queens County was the fourth stakes victory of the year for Best Turn, which probably is the biggest horse in training in New York.

“Biggest horse I ever put a saddle on,” Cornell, former trainer of Silky Sullivan, said after the Vosburgh in October. “I imagine he’d run around 1,300 pounds.”

In keeping with his size, Best Turn has tremendous stride and thus is in difficulty when in close quarters. The idea with Best Turn is to forget about saving ground, and let him run on the outside of horses. He may have to run a good deal farther, but when he turns it on he eats up ground impressively.

The Queens County attracted a well-balanced field of 12 starters, all weighted moderately. New York rules call for handicap-race weights to start at scale and in this case Shuvee, an original nominee, was given actual top impost of 124, which let all the others in with less than usual.

Judgable, a 3-year-old, was starting highweight at 119, with 4-year-old Best Turn at 118. Seven of the starters were weighted within a five-pound span, so close was the competition.

Judgable has proved time and again that he is one of the most stubborn front-runners to pass, and he showed it again in the Queens County. He went right to the front and Burd Alane, another 3-year-old, went right with him. They raced as a team until reaching the turn for home at which point Burd Alane had had enough.

Not far behind through most of the running were Ship Leave and Gleaming Light. In the far turn, *Dorileo made a big move and the roan Al Hattab also seemed a menace at the head of the stretch. None of these, however, could match Judgable, which seemed on his way to victory until three come-from-behind types swept down the stretch.

Larry Adams kept Best Turn far back in the early running, outside all the others, and ahead only of 80-1 *Irurzon, an Argentine 4-year-old which had run five times in this country for Melvin Berry, but only on grass. Protanto, Cragwood Stable’s Roamer winner, also was far back and raced dead last at the head of the stretch after Best Turn and *Irurzun had begun their moves.

The three long-striding colts were right with Judgable at the exciting finish, Best Turn outside, *Irurzun splitting horses, and Protanto widest of all. It was Best Turn winner by a half-length, *Irurzun second by a head, and Judgable third by a neck over Protanto, although Protanto might have been closing fastest of all. The time on a muddy track was 1:50.

Best Turn pedigree

Having circled most of the 12-horse field, Best Turn churned through the middle of the muddy stretch to register his third consecutive victory by taking the Queens County Handicap. The colt had begun his string in the Oct. 24 Vosburgh Handicap (his third stakes tally this year), and in his last previous start had won a mile allowance prep against several of the Queens County entrants. Best Turn was sent off as the third choice while receiving one pound from the favored topweight, Judgable, which set the pace into the stretch. The eventual winner was 10^th through a half-mile, then moved up steadily to be third at the head of the stretch. Raced on the outside all the way, Best Turn outfinished 81-1 *Irurzun in time 2 4/5 seconds slower than the track record.

Best Turn reportedly received a minor foot injury and was dispatched to Hialeah, with other Calumet Farm runners, two days after the Queens County. He is the second homebred stakes winner of 1970 for Mrs. Gene Markey’s Calumet Farm near Lexington, which also raced Sunny Tim, winner of the Swift and Bay Shore Stakes last March.

Best Turn is the first of two foals and winners from Sweet Clementine, which also has a weanling filly by Tim Tam and now is in foal to Forward Pass. The second dam is $267,100-earner Miz Clementine, she a full sister to 1949 co-champion 3-year-old filly Two Lea and to multiple stakes winner Twosy.

*Turn-to, sire of Best Turn, has sired 23 other stakes winners, including America’s current leading sire, Hail to Reason, plus 1970 added-money victor Hoist Sail, which won the Ohio Championship Handicap. The son of *Royal Charger—*Source Sucree, by Admiral Drake, is owned by a syndicate, stands at Leslie Combs II’s Spendthrift Farm near Lexington, and had an Average-Earnings Index of 3.76 with 419 starters through 1969.