Shirl's Speight, winner of the 2022 Maker's Mark Mile (G1) at Keeneland, will aim to become the first foreign horse to compete in Japan's Group 1 February Stakes on Feb. 19, reports the Thoroughbred Daily News. The Tokyo showpiece is contested over a mile on the dirt course.
Owner/breeder Charlies Fipke is one of a small number of North American owners who are licensed to race in Japan, according to advisor Sid Fernando. Fipke also breeds a few mares in Japan each year, and even won a couple races there last year with Kana Tape. In fact, Fipke's racing investments have extended to multiple international venues, including South Africa, Australia, and Dubai.
“On top of all of that, he'd like to also try to win a Grade 1 race on dirt with Shirl's Speight,” Fernando told TDN. “With his Japanese contacts and everything, it's showcasing that horse over there as a potential stallion prospect, not that he plans on selling the horse or anything. For Japanese breeders, it's exposure.”
Shirl's Speight's latest start was a strong second to Modern Games in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Mile on turf, but his most recent dirt start, the G3 Salvator Mile at Monmouth Park on June 18, 2022, resulted in a third-place finish beaten more than 11 lengths by Mind Control.
The 5-year-old son of Speightstown is out of Fipke's millionaire 2011 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf winner Perfect Shirl (Perfect Soul), and is conditioned by Roger Attfield. He'll be ridden in the February Stakes by Joao Moreira, a four-time champion rider in Hong Kong with experience in Japan.
Plans after the February Stakes call for Shirl's Speight to ship to Dubai for the Group 1 Dubai Turf over nine furlongs at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai on Mar. 25.
“It's a very complex logistical thing with quarantine, flights, etc.,” Fernando told TDN. “I have to give a shout out to [Fipke's] administrative assistant Fawn Seminoff, who has really done an incredible job organizing all of the moving parts.”
Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.
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