When longtime owner Paul Pompa died in October, he left behind a respected stable that has conquered some of the biggest races in America. Lane’s End oversaw the dispersal of his stock at the Keeneland January sale, and the West Point buying team could not help but focus on Turned Aside. The future looks bright for the son of Triple Crown hero American Pharoah, judging by the way he closed out 2020:

• A breakthrough Grade 3 win at Saratoga in the Quick Call Stakes on July 24, upstaging Jack and Noah, his rival all season in the New York turf sprint division;
• A victory over older horses in the Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship on November 28, jumping forward to a 101 Beyer speed figure and a 7 1/4 on the Ragozin Sheets. For comparison (and perhaps a forecast of 2021), we can look to the most recent edition of the Jaipur Stakes, the most prestigious turf sprint on the New York circuit. Oleksandra won the Grade 1 Jaipur on Belmont Stakes day with a 7 3/4 on the Ragozin Sheets, a half-point slower than the figure Turned Aside would receive for the Aqueduct Turf Championship.

“His form looks great, and on top of that, he is a beautiful horse,” said Terry Finley, who attended the sale and worked up a plan with the Green family’s D J Stable to buy Turned Aside and turn him over to Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse. “He has the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar written all over him.

“When I spoke to Mark, I said, ‘Man, what a nice horse,’ and his response was, ‘I know, I know. He beat me several times in the last year.”

Turned Aside has shipped to Mark’s training center in Ocala, where he will start back up after the sale process. Mark spends most of the winter there himself and will take the opportunity in coming weeks to get to know the horse and develop a schedule to culminate with the Breeders’ Cup on November 6 at Del Mar.

Syndication price includes all acquisition, training, veterinary, and insurance expenses until June 30, 2021.