TURNING JAPANESE
Four year old filly - SUNDAY SILENCE x LYPHARD x VAGUELY NOBLE
OWNER/TRAINER - dkyoung7
RECORD: 2004: 13 / 8-2-2
CAREER EARNINGS: $2,044,660
2004 Stakes:
-
WON: Breeders Bowl Turf Disaff(G1), Flower Pot Stakes(G1), Brown Fields Handicap(G3),
Lil' Drummer Boy Handicap(G3),
The Our Mouth Handicap, The River Hannah(IRE) Handicap, The Senorita Majestic Handicap
2nd: Japan Classic(G1)
3rd: The Pennsylvania Marathon(G1), The Celestial Cozzene Special
Turning Japanese is (Twice!) Turning Heads
*Champion Turf Mare & Champion Older Mare*
By- Nextbonus
I hopped a plane and headed Down Under to the International Sim Racing Club to interview Darren K. Young, owner/trainer/breeder of the brilliant Turning Japanese (Sunday Silence x Lyphard x Vaguely Noble). Darren is one of racing's low profile, low key, stay away from controversy at all costs trainers. The original Mr. Easy Going. So it was like pulling teeth to get him to talk about his great mare.
We chatted at the fence of his farm's turnout paddock while we watched his
diminutive gray dual Eclipse winner lazily nibble grass. "I'm
thrilled beyond belief." Said Darren, "She (Turning Japanese) has exceeded any
and all expectations. I'm in awe every time I see her race. She's so
tiny and she falls so far behind the leaders early that I half expect her to
just disappear. But she has a big engine beneath that tiny hood and
once she gets rolling, watch out!"T J didn't debut until late in her three year old season. As to why
the late start, Darren said "She was so small and immature at two that we
quit with her after we broke her. She just stood out in that very paddock
doing exactly what she's doing now until halfway through her three year old
year. Once we started training her, we could see had a lot of
talent."
"I shipped her to Tassie (Tasmania) for her debut at six and a half
furlongs and she raced well finishing fourth. Finished real strong.
So I raced her right back there because she seemed to like the track and she won
at seven (furlongs) in 1:24 flat. I took her to Victoria and stretched her
out to a mile for her first allowance race. Won easy in 1:35.2. I
figured that was enough for the year so I spelled her for two
months."
I asked if he plotted out her Eclipse winning season. "No, not at
all. Not at first, anyway. I knew she was good but I had no idea
she'd be THAT good, Mate. I shipped her to Italy for her first two races
and she did well, finishing third in a stake and then winning in
allowances. Her next test was really the one that opened a lot of
eyes. She was second in a mile allowance at New South Wales that went in
1:34 flat. She was moving so fast at the wire that her hooves barely
touched the ground."
"I got a bit ambitious with her after that and raced her in a grade 2 at
Queensland. She wasn't quite ready for that yet but still raced OK.
Then came the fun part." He said with a wry smile and a gleam in his eye.
"Seven stakes wins in a row!"
Yes, indeed. The little gray filly with the big heart went on a tear
that netted her a pair of trophies. First came a Portuguese stake at
nine furlongs followed by her first of four graded wins. This one a grade
3 at Newmarket.
Following a pair of ungraded stakes wins, it off to Northern
California for the grade 3 Brown Fields Handicap against the
boys. All she did in Frisco was turn in perhaps the most jaw dropping
performance of her career. After dawdling in the back of the pack for a
long, long time, she turned on the afterburners and jetted past the leaders as
if they were running in quicksand. She turned an eight length deficit at
the top of the stretch into a six length victory.
Off to The Big Apple on only two weeks rest for the grade 1 Flower Pot at a
mile and a quarter. Turning Japanese dazzled 'em on Broadway as she came
from dead last in the eleven mare field to post a going away tally by three
widening lengths.
Breeders Bowl time! And T J didn't disappoint the Texas throng.
With her patented worst to first move, she crushed the best mares on the planet
by six open lengths. Can you say Eclipse? Twice?
She concluded her stellar season with a pair of in the money finishes
against males in grade 1 marathons. A solid second place finish in The
Japan Classic followed by a third in Philly.
What's next for Turning Japanese? Darren said he'll just play it by
ear. "She's got nothing to prove. I'll just see how she's feeling
and go from there. I might give her a try on dirt sometime. We'll
see."
And what about her name? "Turning Japanese is a song by a group
called The Vapors. One hit wonders, they were, Mate. It was playing
on the radio just before she was foaled."
I guess we should be thankful it wasn't A Boy Named
Sue.
Turning Japanese's 2004 Campaign
| PP | ||||
| TURNING JAPANESE | ID# 86810 |
| dkyoung7 | 5 Year Old Mare | (SUNDAY SILENCE x LYPHARD x VAGUELY NOBLE) |
| Divisional Ranking: | 1096 | Races | Wins | Places | Shows | Earnings | |||
| Low Tag/Year: | N/A | Total | 16 | 10 | 2 | 2 | $2,044,660 | ||
| Non M/C/O/S Wins: | 9 | Dirt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 | ||
| Turf | 16 | 10 | 2 | 2 | $2,044,660 | ||||
| Routes | 13 | 8 | 2 | 2 | $2,018,720 | ||||
| Sprints | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | $25,940 |
Past Performances:
| Race ID | Trk | RST | S | D | Race | Time | SP# | # | PP | C1 | C2 | C3 | FIN | Jockey | Odds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2335.1213 | PA | 3yo+ | T | 12 | The Pennsylvania Marathon -G1 | 2:30 2/5 | 101 | 12 | 9 | 8 9 | 8 13-1/4 | 4 7-1/2 | 3 9-1/2 | dkyoung7 | D Cameron | 5.70 |
| 2314.5015 | JP | 3yo+ | T | 12 | Japan Classic -G1 | 2:30 2/5 | 107 | 11 | 8 | 11 12 | 11 18 | 7 13 | 2 3 | dkyoung7 | W Mosebar | 3.50 |
| 2293.1008 | TX | F-3yo+ | T | 10 | Breeders Bowl Turf Distaff -G1 | 2:01 2/5 | 113 | 14 | 6 | 13 9-1/4 | 12 12-3/4 | 6 6-1/4 | 1 6 | dkyoung7 | S Salerno | 6.10 |
| 2265.0415 | NY | F-3yo+ | T | 10 | Flower Pot Stakes -G1 | 2:02 1/5 | 108 | 11 | 5 | 11 8-3/4 | 11 13 | 6 8-1/2 | 1 3 | dkyoung7 | P Lewis | 3.60 |
| 2251.2915 | C1 | 3yo+ | T | 9 | Brown Fields Handicap -G3 | 1:47 4/5 | 115 | 8 | 8 | 6 9-1/2 | 4 14-1/4 | 4 8-1/4 | 1 6 | dkyoung7 | V Naugle | 4.00 |
| 2195.531 | A1 | F-3yo+ | T | 9 | The OUR MOUTH Handicap -Stk | 1:49 | 106 | 9 | 6 | 9 10-1/2 | 8 15-1/2 | 6 10-3/4 | 1 1/2 | dkyoung7 | G Adler | 2.40 |
| 2174.2010 | IN | F-3yo+ | T | 9 | The RIVER HANNAH(IRE) Handicap -Stk | 1:49 1/5 | 105 | 10 | 1 | 9 10-1/4 | 9 15-1/2 | 7 10-1/4 | 1 3-1/2 | dkyoung7 | D Khoury | 2.60 |
| 2139.4915 | E5 | F-3yo+ | T | 8.5 | Lil' Drummer Boy Handicap -G3 | 1:42 2/5 | 108 | 9 | 7 | 8 10 | 8 14-3/4 | 6 10-1/4 | 1 2-1/4 | dkyoung7 | Ni Ambrose | 3.40 |
| 2132.6410 | PT | F-4yo+ | T | 9 | The SENORITA MAJESTIC Handicap -Stk | 1:48 3/5 | 108 | 6 | 2 | 6 5 | 5 7-1/4 | 2 4 | 1 4 | dkyoung7 | R Huff | 2.20 |
| 2097.5515 | A3 | F-3yo+ | T | 10 | Adrian Adonis Stakes -G2 | 2:01 1/5 | 107 | 9 | 1 | 9 7-1/4 | 9 9-1/2 | 7 6-1/4 | 4 8-1/2 | dkyoung7 | I Bankston | 3.60 |
| 2076.5402 | A2 | 4yo+ | T | 8 | HKTC's Hong Kong Mile Stakes -- Owner Restricted -Alw | 1:33 4/5 | 119 | 15 | 5 | 13 9-1/4 | 12 13-3/4 | 8 9-3/4 | 2 1-1/2 | dkyoung7 | S Beckistan | 21.10 |
| 2013.6314 | IY | F-4yo+ | T | 7.5 | Alw-22000NW3L | 1:29 1/5 | 107 | 14 | 5 | 14 8-1/2 | 13 12-1/2 | 7 6-1/2 | 1 5-1/2 | dkyoung7 | D Coker | 5.80 |
| 1999.6310 | IY | F-4yo+ | T | 8 | The CELESTIAL COZZENE Special -Stk | 1:35 2/5 | 99 | 10 | 7 | 10 10 | 10 15-1/2 | 8 13-1/4 | 3 4-3/4 | dkyoung7 | L Twyman | 36.40 |