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Turn-To

British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Turn-to (1951-June 15, 1973) was a British-born, American-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire.

01Background

He was sired by the British stallion Royal Charger, out of the French mare Source Sucree, whose sire, Admiral Drake, was third on the French sire list in 1949.

Imported to the United States of America as a yearling, Turn-to was bought at the Keeneland Sales for $20,000 (equivalent to $240,000 in 2025) to race for Capt. Harry F. Guggenheim's Cain Hoy Stable.

02Racing career

As a two-year-old with Henry Moreno aboard, Turn-to won the Garden State Futurity and the Saratoga Special. He also won the Flamingo Stakes at three.

03Retirement

Upon retirement, Turn-to initially stood at stud at Claiborne Farm before being moved to Spendthrift Farm after a disagreement between Guggenheim and Arthur B. Hancock.

His influence as a sire was demonstrated through the success of his progeny, many of whom became leading racehorses and important breeding stallions. Among his most notable offspring were First Landing, winner of the Belmont Stakes and later a successful sire; Hail To Reason, the U.S. Champion Two-Year-Old Colt of 1960 and an exceptionally influential stallion whose descendants have had a lasting impact on Thoroughbred breeding worldwide; Best Turn, a multiple stakes winner who also became a successful sire; and Sir Gaylord, a leading racehorse and sire best known as the sire of Sir Ivor and as a half-brother to Secretariat (both being out of the mare Somethingroyal). Through these and many other offspring, he established one of the most influential sire lines in modern Thoroughbred history.

Turn-to died on June 15, 1973, and is buried at Green Gates Farm, which is now part of Spendthrift Farm near Lexington, Kentucky. He was euthanized due to intestinal complications.

04Pedigree

Pedigree of Turn-to (GB), bay stallion, 1951
Sire
Royal Charger (GB)
1942
Nearco (ITY)
1935
Pharos Phalaris
Scapa Flow
Nogara Havresac
Catnip
Sun Princess (GB)
1937
Solario Gainsborough
Sun Worship
Mumtaz Begum Blenheim
Mumtaz Mahal
Dam
Source Sucree (FR)
1940
Admiral Drake (FR)
1931
Craig an Eran Sunstar
Maid of the Mist
Plucky Liege Spearmint
Concertina
Lavendula (FR)
1930
Pharos Phalaris
Scapa Flow
Sweet Lavender Swynford
Marchetta (Family:1-w)
Watch videos about Turn-ToExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Turn-To, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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