Loretta McClintock's homebred Kela's Turn earned double honors from the Iowa Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association for her accomplishments at Prairie Meadows in 2021.
The talented daughter of Kela – Lauren's Turn (Lion Heart) was recognized as the 2021 ITBOA Horse of the Year and the champion ITBOA “3-year-old filly.”
Kela's Turn earned $233,951 in total purse money last year, winning three of her six starts for her owner under jockey Shane Laviolette for trainer Henry Guillory, Jr.
Her 2021 season started with a bang when Kela's Turn took command early and drew off to a seven-length victory over five rivals in the traditional opening-weekend allowance sprint for the distaff 3-year-olds and up.
Kela's Turn bested the likes of Snapy Gal, 2020 seasonal champ Topless, and eventual top 2021 champion older Iowa-bred mare Naughty Shirley.
She won the Bob Bryant Stakes one month later and finished second to Naughty Shirley in the Mamie Eisenhower Stakes on June 19.
McClintock and Guillory decided to stretch out Kela's Turn into route races in her next two starts, which resulted in a third-place optional claiming finish and a narrow victory over Snapy Gal in The Hawkeyes Handicap at a 1 1/16 miles on Aug. 7.
“We really thought she could get a route of ground,” explained Guillory at the time. “After her first two-turn race, we decided to take the blinkers off and that really made the difference.”
The day after her tenacious victory in The Hawkeyes, Guillory stopped at the Prairie Meadows racing office to view the race again.
“I could watch the replay a hundred times,” Guillory exclaimed. “I knew she could win at two turns and she proved it!”
Guillory dropped Kela's Turn into the entry box more than a few times the rest of August and into early September, but was unable to get his filly into a race before the season-ending Iowa Breeders' Oaks on Iowa Classic Day Sept. 25.
In her first start in almost two months, Kela's Turn settled for second behind open-lengths winner Bossy Moment, an effort that solidified her status as the top Iowa-bred 3-year-old of the season and ITBOA Horse Of The Year for 2021.
“I'm so proud of her and her accomplishments,” said McClintock. “That first allowance race win was amazing! You never know for sure whether or not a young horse is going to move forward off a good two-year-old season or not and she ran like she hadn't missed a beat.”
“Sure, we wanted her to end the season with an Iowa Classic stakes victory,” added McClintock. “But it's pretty tough to go into those races on works alone.”
Guillory added, “She was the best Iowa-bred filly on the grounds all season long. I'm not trying to make excuses, but they all dodged her in the weeks after The Hawkeyes.”
Before the end of 2021, Kela's Turn added to her win total and career earnings with back-to-back victories, including a stakes score, at Delta Downs in Louisiana.
“We'll bring her back to Prairie Meadows for her 4-year-old season,” said McClintock. “We've already got our eyes on the major stakes races for the older fillies and mares. And, if we have to, we'll ship out to take advantage of any opportunities that might come up at other tracks in the Midwest.”
The other Iowa-bred champions of 2021:
2-year-old Iowa-bred colt — Ain't Life Grand, a son of Not This Time – Cat D'Oro (Medaglia D'Oro), won three of his four starts last season for owner/breeder RPM Thoroughbreds of Prairie Meadows Hall of Famers Ray and Peggy Shattuck, earning $128,730.
The precocious 2-year-old set off some fireworks of his own in an impressive Fourth of July debut, breaking alertly under jockey Elvin Gonzalez, seizing command early, and pulling clear to a three-length score.
Under the care of Prairie Meadows Hall of Fame trainer Kelly Von Hemel, Ain't Life Grand finished third in the Iowa Stallion Futurity on July 24, then capped his season with a double-digits tally in the Richard Radke Memorial at one mile on Sept. 4 and a gutsy three-length victory in the Iowa Cradle on Sept. 25.
2-year-old Iowa-bred filly — Demidanu, bred by Iowa State University and running for trainer Kelly Von Hemel, also recorded three wins in four starts during her debut season, posting earnings of $102,390.
Campaigned by the ownership group of Lynette Dreifurst, Dana Hellbusch, Warren Hellbusch, and Anthony Schieffer, Jr., Demidanu scored by eight lengths first time out under jockey Kevin Roman on June 27.
The daughter of Formidable – Soaring Goddess (Desert God) was unplaced in the Iowa Stallion Futurity before winning on Aug. 24 and capping her season with a solid score in the Iowa Sorority on Sept. 25.
3-year-old Iowa-bred colt/gelding — Sir Wally Wally, the son of Revolutionary – Paws Up (Posse), notched two wins from six starts at Prairie Meadows in 2021 for the ownership group of Midnight Thoroughbreds, LLC, Parenza Farms LLC, and Mark Deterding.
Trainer Kelly Von Hemel sent out Sir Wally Wally to stakes scores under Prairie Meadows Hall of Fame jockey Glenn Corbett in the Grays Lake on May 31 and the Iowa Stallion Stakes on July 17.
Older Iowa-bred mare — Naughty Shirley, a daughter Jafmil – Pulpinit (Pulpit) enjoyed the best season of her career during a seven-race campaign as a five-year-old.
Bred by Joe Robson Thoroughbreds and owned by Mercy Man Racing of Dylan Robson, Naughty Shirley recorded back-to-back wins at Prairie Meadows in 2021 under jockey Ken Tohill for trainer Doug Anderson.
She added a victory at Gulfstream Park on November 19, to reach $110,091 in total earnings for her season.
Older Iowa-bred horse — Topper T, a son of Bellamy Road – Des Moines (Evansville), hadn't won a race at Prairie Meadows in almost three years when he tallied an optional claiming sprint score under Shane Laviolette on July 12.
The 2018 Iowa Cradle winner for breeder Black Oak Farm (Sherry Tracy) changed hands four times after his two-year-old year and was claimed out of his July win by owner Gene Burkholder and trainer William Martin.
Topper T ran three times for Burkholder and Martin, winning the Dan Johnson Sprint on Iowa Classic Day to finish 2021 with earnings of $128,094.
The ITBOA also named champions based on earnings at Prairie Meadows in 2021:
Owner/Breeder of the Year—Allen Poindexter, whose Iowa-owned runners earned $854,870 and whose Iowa-bred foals earned $936,399.
Stallion of the Year — Native Ruler, now pensioned at Unbridled Spirits in Lisbon, IA. His progeny earned $430,295.
Broodmare of the Year — Paws Up, owned by Midnight Thoroughbreds, whose offspring earned $166,423.
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