Turco Bravo's patience leads to victory in Birdstone

by Brian Bohl

Turco Bravo lived up to his reputation as a long-distance specialist, stalking the leader before going four-wide in the upper stretch and prevailing after a tough battle for a one-length victory in Wednesday's $100,000 Birdstone for 3-year-olds and up at Saratoga Race Course.

The Chilean-bred Turco Bravo finished the 1 3/4-mile course on the sloppy and sealed main track in 3:01.17 for his third stakes victory this year, adding to his wins in the Flat Out on May 15 and the Stymie on March 13.

Trainer Gary Contessa's 7-year-old chestnut gelding capitalized on the class relief after back-to-back Grade 2 starts, including a second-place finish in the Brooklyn Handicap on June 11. Desvelo set fractions of 49.71, 1:14.23, 1:40.51 and 2:06.40 with Turco Bravo, under jockey Javier Castellano, right behind.

"I was trying to keep him motivated, and he did it; he responded," Castellano said. "He didn't give up. Today, I was a little more aggressive. He likes to be close. If you let him, he's going to fall too far back and it is hard to catch up with the other horses. That's why I was more aggressive and put him in the race."

Turco Bravo, owned by Winning Move Stable, finished second to Tacticus in last year's Birdstone. The even-money favorite paid $4.20 on a $2 win wager and improved his career earnings to $591,968.

"I thought Old Time Hockey [the Contessa-trained No. 1] would be on the lead," Contessa said. "Those were the instructions, but it didn't work out. I told both jockeys, 'there's very little speed in this race.' There was actually more than I thought. I liked that Castellano had horse in every point in the race. I was feeling pretty confident most of the race, but the horse that ran second [Desvelo] ran hard. You have to tip your hat to him, too.

"He's just that kind of horse. This was our idea when we brought him here," he added. "These South American horses can run [long distances]. It's a blessing that I get to train him."

Contessa said Turco Bravo, who has already made eight starts this year, could be looking at the Grade 3 Greenwood Cup at Parx Racing.

"In the old days, you could pick a race for this horse easily. Every track had a marathon race. They just aren't out there anymore. I'm going to have to do my homework. Right now, he gets a rest. He deserves it," Contessa said.

Desvelo, the Argentina-bred 7-year-old chestnut gelding trained by Kelly Rubley, finished on the board for the first time in seven starts.

Old Time Hockey, who finished fourth in his first race for Contessa on July 24 at the Spa, came in third on the quick turnaround. Indycott, Kid Cruz and Lideris completed the order of finish.

The Birdstone is named for 2004 Belmont Stakes winner, trained by Hall of Famer Nick Zito, who as a 36-1 longshot upset Smarty Jones to end his Triple Brown bid. The son of Storm Bird, owned by Marylou Whitney Stables, also won the 2003 Grade 1 Champagne and the 2004 Grade 1 Travers.