I read the NYT article and interpreted it differently. The authors found that kids who scored in the top percentile on the SAT by age 13 were very likely to have successful long-term careers. To my eye, that doesn't prove necessarily that talent wins out over practice.
What kids take the SAT before age 13? Most do not do that on their own. Their parents sign them up for that, many of whom come from wealthy and/or educated families. You may simply be seeing a well-known association that you see with IQ- children from wealthier, highly educated families tend to have higher IQs.