8-1? 'Shirl'-y you must be joking, but the March-foaled bay rewarded her backers in becoming the second 'TDN Rising Star' out of the mare and the fourth from the first two dams with a spectacular effort on career debut.

A half-step slow to begin from gate nine and a detached last passing the stands for the first time, Ready for Shirl was allowed to find her feet by Florent Geroux and she had some pace up ahead of her, as Tempting Lady (Enticed) went the opening quarter in a swift :22.64 over a course which as recently as Friday still had plenty of ease in it. The homebred had passed a couple of rivals by the time they reached the backstretch, and Ready for Shirl was asked to commence a rally with the better part of 5 1/2 furlongs to go, improving her position with a two-path run before angling down towards the inside at the half-mile pole.

Forced to take evasive action around a weakening rival three furlongs from home, Ready for Shirl was consigned to a very wide run around the second turn, but nevertheless made ominous headway, circling up into contention nearing the stretch. Some six wide at the top of the lane, Ready for Shirl surged to a narrow lead at the furlong grounds and bounded clear late to an eye-catching victory. Pin Up Betty (Constitution) sat a perfect inside trip and narrowly outfinished odds-on Spaliday (More Than Ready–Dayatthespa) for second.

The late Jack Werk acquired then 18-year-old Illinois-bred Grade I winner Lady Shirl for $485,000 on behalf of Fipke at the 2005 Keeneland November sale, and the Theatrical (Ire) filly she was carrying at the time got her new owner off to a flying start. Lady Shakespeare, whose full-brother Shakespeare won the GI Woodbine Mile a year after her birth, would go on to a pair of graded wins–including Keeneland's GIII Bewitch S.

Lady Shirl's first Fipke-planned mating was a date with his 2004 GI Maker's Mark Mile hero Perfect Soul and the result was Perfect Shirl, upset winner of the 2010 GII Lake George S. and whose lone victory in nine subsequent trips to the post was a 27-1 upset of the 2011 Filly and Mare Turf. In her first two years at stud, Perfect Shirl was covered by More Than Ready, but neither of those produce managed a victory. A switch to More Than Ready's barnmate Speightstown seemed to do the trick, as Shirl's Speight, GISW-US, GSW & GISP-Can, $1,408,033, became a 'TDN Rising Star' on Woodbine debut in 2020 and recorded his biggest victory to date in the 2022 Maker's Mark. He was fourth to Master of The Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in Friday's renewal.

Perfect Shirl's half-sister Fantastic Shirl (Fantastic Light), a homebred for Dell Ridge Farm, was accorded 'Rising Star' status on Gulfstream debut in 2006, while Lady Shakespeare was responsible for 'TDN Rising Star' Lady Speightspeare (Speightstown), winner of the GI Natalma S. at two and later third in the 2022 GI Jenny Wiley S. and Filly and Mare Turf at Keeneland. The latter's half-sister Ready Lady (More Than Ready) scored at 7-1 on her seven-furlong debut at Woodbine in 2021 before going on to finish third in last year's GII Dance Smartly S.

Perfect Shirl is also the dam of Speightstown Shirl (Speightstown), GSP, $119,038, the 2-year-old filly Perfectshirlstown (Speightstown) and is due to the late WinStar sire this year.

Ready for Shirl is the 17th 'TDN Rising Star' for her sadly departed stallion.

5th-Keeneland, $98,495, Msw, 4-13, 3yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 1:43.39, gd, 3 1/2 lengths.
READY FOR SHIRL, f, 3, by More Than Ready
1st Dam: Perfect Shirl (GISW-USA, GSP-Can, $1,390,729), by Perfect Soul (Ire)
2nd Dam: Lady Shirl, by That's a Nice
3rd Dam: Canonization, by Native Heritage
Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $56,575. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

O/B-Charles E Fipke (KY); T-Roger L Attfield.

#9 READY FOR SHIRL ($17.86) pulled clear down the lane to make her first start a winning one in race 5 at Keeneland! @flothejock was in the irons for Roger Attfield and Charles Fipke.

Ready for Shirl is out of the GISW Perfect Shirl and is a half to GISW Shirl's Speight. pic.twitter.com/LI6Jn6HUEe

— TVG (@TVG) April 13, 2024

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Also drawn is Ready for Shirl (More Than Ready), who is out of GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf victress Perfect Shirl (Perfect Soul {Ire}). Both were bred and raced by Charles Fipke, along with Perfect Shirl's half-sister MGSW Lady Shakespeare (Theatrical {Ire}), the dam of another Fipke homebred, Canadian three-time champion Lady Speightspeare (Speightstown). Once again, Roger Attfield serves as this owner's go-to conditioner. TJCIS PPS

4th-KEE, $100K, Msw, 3yo, 6 1/2f, 2:36 p.m. ET.
Fracture (Uncle Mo) debuts for Katie Rich Farms under trainer Daniel Leitch. A half-brother to GI Manhattan S. hero Instilled Regard (Arch), the homebred's second dam is champion 3-year-old filly Heavenly Prize (Seeking the Gold), who produced MGISW Good Reward (Storm Cat). TJCIS PPS

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A $350,000 purchase by Starlight Racing and Harrell Ventures at the Keeneland September Sale, the Todd Pletcher trainee is a half-brother to GI Preakness S. and GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. hero National Treasure (Quality Road) and SW Ultimate (Speightstown). Pirate's dam is a half-sister to MSW Inspired (Unbridled's Song), who produced GSP Carmel Road (Quality Road). TJCIS PPS

3rd-KEE, $100K, Msw, 3yo, 7f, 2:04 p.m. ET.
TIMEOUT (Curlin) has posted some sharp recent works for trainer Bill Mott at Payson Park in preparation for this debut. The hombred for Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider, out of MGSW Lull (War Front), has an extended female family which includes Horse of the Year winners Saint Liam (Sant Ballado) and Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}.

Under the colors of Charles Fipke, another homebred set for his first start is D'oro Unbridled (Medaglia d'Oro). The Ignacio Correas trainee's dam GISW Unbridled Forever (Unbridled's Song) counts as a full-sister Forever Unbridled. Both are out of GI Kentucky Oaks heroine Lemons Forever (Lemon Drop Kid).

Finally, Counter Attack (Gun Runner) makes the races for an ownership group which includes his breeder Three Chimneys Farm. Trained by Steve Asmussen, the colt was an $825,000 Keeneland September buy for M.V. Magnier and Breeze Easy. Counter Attack's third dam is responsible for GISW Midnight Storm (Pioneerof the Nile). TJCIS PPS

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After all, very few get anywhere near testing their eligibility for the Classics and few others, certainly among the male of the species, will contrive a second career from such opportunities as remain once they have missed that one. That's why purses are so important. Otherwise racehorse ownership would depend entirely on an ancillary industry that annually divides access to a bare handful of colts and a contrasting surfeit of mares, many of them only marginally qualified.

First and foremost, all these horses are born–and bought–to run. Hats off, then, to a 6-year-old gelding whose popularity now extends far beyond the local theater he has long dominated. Following a 16th success in 21 starts, in the GIII San Carlos S., The Chosen Vron (Vronsky) has now banked a few cents short of $1.3 million. Trained by the former private detective Eric Kruljac, he's a great story, and surely making new fans on a circuit that has done a fabulous job in enabling our community to go back out and face Main Street with a clear conscience.

But perhaps this horse can also remind those who treat the racetrack as a means, rather than an end, that precocity is too often conflated by commercial breeders with elite speed. Sure, he romped on his juvenile debut (albeit on Dec. 27). But it's actually in maturity, as in his own Grade I breakout last summer, that speed validly signposts class.

Classic racing is itself considered instructive for breeders precisely because it requires the adolescent Thoroughbred to carry speed into tasks only within the compass of a strengthening physique. And, even round a single turn, we've just awarded yet another Horse of the Year trophy to one that was anything but precocious.

In that context, it's a shame that The Chosen Vron can't recycle his exceptional dash, character and soundness. True, he would never have introduced us to those qualities but for the discovery that a displaced testicle was interfering with his athleticism. But his late sire Vronsky, who died three years ago, deserved to leave a male heir.

That's not just because Vronsky had a proven ability to pass on wholesome genes: his 2018 crop, comprising no more than 43 live foals, includes not only The Chosen Vron but another indefatigable millionaire in four-time Grade II winner Closing Remarks; while his first Grade I winner, What a View, spread his eight-for-31 career across six campaigns. It's also because there's no mystery whatsoever where Vronsky found such prowess.

With only a modestly competent track career, featuring a maiden and a couple of allowance wins, he instead owed his chance at stud to pedigree and physique. Consigned by co-breeder Arthur Hancock of Stone Farm, he'd been a seven-figure Keeneland September yearling in 2000, his inherent appeal–as a son of Danzig out of multiple turf stakes scorer Words of War (Lord At War {Arg})–having been enhanced just days previously by the GI Del Mar Oaks success of his half-sister No Matter What (Nureyev). But his family tree would subsequently go into full bloom.

First the foal between No Matter What and Vronsky, a $1.35-million yearling by Mr. Prospector, as E Dubai ran second in the GI Travers S. and won the GII Suburban H. Then a full-sister to Words of War, the graded stakes winner Ascutney, became dam of GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Raven's Pass, while No Matter What produced Rainbow View (Dynaformer) to become a dual Group 1 winner in Europe, besides three other graded/group winners.

On paper Vronsky didn't have much to work with in The Chosen Vron's dam, Tiz Molly (Tiz Wonderful). She had cost Kruljac $25,000 as a yearling and was retained at just $1,200 when offered at a breeding stock sale, despite having meanwhile won twice in a career cut short by injury. But she did have some blood behind her, her mother being half-sister to Canadian champion Delightful Mary (Limehouse) and GII Ohio Derby winner Delightful Kiss (Kissin Kris), as well as to the dam of Wilson Tesoro (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}), a Group 1 runner-up in Japan last year.

We'll never know whether The Chosen Vron might have been an effective conduit for genes that have functioned so well on the track. But even his “page” won't ever be his sire's best–because that will always be found among those that make Count Vronsky's dramatic steeplechase scene, in Anna Karenina, one of the most famous in Russian literature.

Another Noble Family Denied an Outlet

In a horrible shock, last weekend also reduced a young stallion to a legacy only marginally beyond that available to the gelding whose more cheerful headlines we've just been celebrating. And the loss of Improbable felt all the more poignant because he, too, represented a family loaded with just the kind of genetic assets that the modern breed most requires.

For it can hardly be a coincidence that a page with Hard Spun front and center should have given us a horse whose juvenile Grade I success turned out only to be a downpayment for what he would achieve in maturity, when a hat-trick of elite scores qualified Improbable as champion older horse.

Hard Spun is half-brother to the second dam of Improbable, their mother Turkish Tryst (Turkoman) in turn being out of Darbyvail, a Roberto half-sister to champion Little Current (Sea-Bird {Fr}). Can't miss the Darby Dan flavors here and, sure enough, the next dam is the farm's matriarch Banquet Bell (Polynesian), who delivered two champions by Swaps in Primonetta and Chateaugay.

Primonetta proceeded to become a Broodmare of the Year, as dam of two Grade I winners and another pair at Grade II/Group 2 level. Yet her branch of the dynasty has faded, while Darbyvail's modest record both on the track and in the paddocks would instead be relieved by a daughter of Turkoman, of all horses. In much the same way, Hard Spun's brilliance found little reflection in his siblings. A filly by Stravinsky named Our Rite of Spring did win a stakes race, however, earning her early chances with top stallions including A.P. Indy. By the time the latter's daughter had produced Improbable, however, Our Rite of Spring had been sold for just $5,000 to finish her career in Colorado.

Obviously his damsire A.P. Indy can only have contributed usefully to Improbable, and likewise his own late sire, City Zip–whose prospects of salvaging the Carson City line now appear to be divided between the very promising Collected (three Grade II winners from his first sophomores last year, and now a leading GI Kentucky Oaks prospect in Lemon Muffin) and the three crops granted to poor Improbable.

His imminent first runners will represent a crop of 127 live foals; the next comprised 99; and presumably the last full one will be rather less. Overall that gives Improbable only a fleeting window of opportunity, and our hearts go out to the WinStar team, who first committed to the horse all the way back as a Keeneland September yearling.

Thankfully the royal Darby Dan genes that brand his family still have a priceless outlet through Danzig's parting gift, Hard Spun. Except he's not priceless, of course. At $35,000, Hard Spun remains among the very best value in Kentucky–where he now has four young sons (Silver State, Aloha West, Two Phil's and Spun to Run) competing to redress this weekend's tragic loss to a family that has condensed toughness as well as brilliance.

…And Another Hardy Perennial

On 15 April 2018, barely two weeks after The Chosen Vron was foaled in California, on the opposite coast a colt by Munnings slithered into the straw on a small Maryland farm. His mother, Listen Boy (After Market), had been stakes-placed in a fairly light career for her breeders at neighboring Sagamore, but was culled from that program for just $25,000 at the 2015 Keeneland November Sale. Earlier that year she had delivered her first foal, a son of First Defence (whose purchasers showed macabre humor–remember the mare is called Listen Boy–in naming him Nuclear Option) who would go on to prove a hardy 11-for-59 campaigner.

A couple of years later the mare's purchasers, Leonard and Patricia Pineau of Three Pines Farm, shrewdly sent her to Munnings who was then still building his reputation at $25,000. (The Ashford sire, albeit seemingly in perennial vogue, stands on the brink of fresh momentum with his forthcoming yearlings conceived at $85,000, more than double the previous crop.)

The resulting colt was sold at Keeneland September for $80,000, proving a solid pinhook for Grassroots Training & Sales at $140,000 at OBS the following April. Named Jaxon Traveler by purchasers West Point Thoroughbreds, he was precocious enough to be an unbeaten stakes winner at two, but his GIII Whitmore S. success confirms him to be better than ever in his fifth campaign. That makes him an apt winner of the race honoring an evergreen sprinter who, in his own career, similarly reminded us that Thoroughbreds tend not to approach their physical prime until long after the age when the best are often retired.

The big difference between Jaxon Traveler and Whitmore or The Chosen Vron, of course, is that he retains the equipment required for a second career. So perhaps he'll emulate his grandsire Speightstown as a late starter at stud somewhere.

For a dual Grade I winner by a sire of sires out of Tranquility Lake (Rahy), After Market was a disappointing stallion and ended up in Turkey. But his daughter has here been skilfully managed to produce some very sound stock by modern standards, an aspiration that has turned out to be very much our theme of the week.

Heard the Buzz?

The group of sires about to send a third crop of juveniles into the fray is proving a very competitive one, among others featuring Justify, Good Magic and Bolt d'Oro, plus several who appear to be seizing a much narrower chance. The busiest sires in the intake, studmates Mendelssohn and Justify, have so far had 262 and 216 starters, respectively, whereas Army Mule, Girvin and Oscar Performance have muscled into the top 10 (by cumulative earnings) with between 112 and 115 starters apiece.

But not even these can match the ratio of stakes winners quietly assembled by Bee Jersey, whose son Beeline became his sixth black-type scorer from just 48 starters in the Hutcheson S. last weekend.

Beeline | Ryan Thompson

Beeline is typical of the atypical program that bred him. His third dam is one of its foundation mares, a twice-raced daughter of Secretariat named Ball Chairman, whose foals included Canadian champion Perfect Soul (Ire) (Sadler's Wells). Their owner Chuck Fipke runs an extraordinary stable, largely comprising not only homebreds, but homebreds by homebred stallions. He sends valuable mares to sires that you or I can hire at bargain fees. And it keeps paying off.

Jersey Town admittedly arrived in utero, with his $700,000 dam, and went on to win the GI Cigar Mile. Retired to stud, Fipke sent him a mare whose fourth dam is matriarch Lassie Dear (Buckpasser), and the result was Bee Jersey, lightning-fast winner of the stallion-making GI Met Mile.

Bee Jersey's first sophomores last year included three runners-up in graded stakes, all naturally bred by Fipke. Perhaps Beeline, sold as a 2-year-old at OBS last June to Bradley Thoroughbreds for $70,000, can give his sire a breakout score at that level. It's plainly only a matter of time, and you can't say that of too many $5,000 covers.

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The odds-on favorite hit the ground running, but had pressure stacked up to his outside and looked to be in deep water as the slow-starting Valiant Force (Malibu Moon) threatened to make a race of it three deep at the top of the lane. Resurgent inside with Edgard Zayas laying his body down, Beeline was confronted by Improptude (Khozan) with time ticking away and was the recipient of a fortuitous bob.

A £600,000 buyback out of the 2014 Goffs London Sale, Secretariat Humor is out of a full-sister to this breeder's champion Perfect Soul (Ire), whose six winners from six to race also includes Grade III-placed Ready Soul (More Than Ready) and SP Miss Injustice (Court Vision). Secretariat Wonder has a 2-year-old full-sister to Beeline named Tremendous Bee, a yearling full-brother and was bred back to the former Fipke runner for her 2024 foal. Beeline is the sixth stakes winner for his sire. Click for the Equibase.com chart and the VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

HUTCHESON S., $106,000, Gulfstream, 3-16, 3yo, 6f, 1:10.59, ft.
1–BEELINE, 118, c, 3, by Bee Jersey
1st Dam: Secretariat Humor, by Distorted Humor
2nd Dam: Secretariat's Soul (Ire), by Sadler's Wells
3rd Dam: Ball Chairman, by Secretariat
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. ($70,000 2yo '23 OBSOPN). O-Vintage Thoroughbreds LLC, Scott Estes & Brian Hanley; B-Charles Fipke (KY); T-Riley Mott; J-Edgard J Zayas. $60,760. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $102,760. *Full to Topsy, SW & GSP, $227,363.
2–Improptude, 118, c, 3, Khozan–Tizlot, by Tiznow. 1ST BLACK-TYPE. O-Fly With Me & Tami Bobo; B-Tami Bobo (FL); T-Antonio Sano. $25,600.
3–Patriot Spirit, 120, c, 3, Constitution–Mistical Plan, by Game Plan. ($95,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP; $235,000 2yo '23 OBSMAR). O-Mellon Patch Inc; B-Blue Heaven Farm (KY); T-Michael B Campbell. $9,800.
Margins: NO, 1HF, 2 3/4. Odds: 0.80, 26.60, 6.00.
Also Ran: Valiant Force, Ship to Shore, Sir Flash, Starship Mocha.

.@Riley_Mott's Beeline (inside) crosses the wire first in the Hutcheson Stakes under @zayas_edgardo! #GulfstreamPark #ChampionshipMeet pic.twitter.com/jCcyMujBRT

— Gulfstream Park (@GulfstreamPark) March 16, 2024

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(4) Two Item Saver a convincing winner of race 3 with jockey @VCheminaud aboard! (2) Yes Day and (1) New Beat follow. pic.twitter.com/fJZSdIIJfj

— Keeneland Racing (@keenelandracing) October 6, 2023

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Hip 495 was among the first horses to work Wednesday morning when she turned in her bullet quarter-mile drill. Consigned by Triple J Equine Sales, the chestnut filly is out of Tale of La Comete (Tale of Ekati). Her third dam is La Comete (Holy Bull), who is the dam of Munnings.

Bred by Charles Fipke, the filly RNA'd for $4,500 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

Hip 430, who also turned in his :20 3/5 work early in Wednesday's first set, is consigned by Wavertree Stables. The dark bay colt is out of Soul Spirit (Quality Road), who is a daughter of multiple Grade I-placed Soul Search (A.P. Indy) and a half-sister to graded winner Journey Home (War Front).

“We expected he would work really well, but I can't say we were expecting :20 3/5,” said Wavertree's Ciaran Dunne. “It was a really good work because on the backside, clocking it, it wasn't like he threw in a really fast sixteenth and then just kind of found his way home. He was even the whole way and kind of kept at it around the turn, which is what he is going to be. He's going to go long. The fact that he has that kind of speed makes you think he could be really dangerous going long.”

Of the decision to work the colt a quarter-mile Wednesday, Dunne explained, “I find if you go an eighth in June, you spend the next week explaining why he was only ready to go an eighth. Especially with this horse, he's not supposed to go an eighth of a mile. We wanted to give him a bit of room to get himself uncorked and into a rhythm.”

Dunne admitted the June sale wasn't his first choice for the juvenile.

“April would have been ideal, but he just had a few bumps in the road,” he explained. “Nothing serious, but more growing pains than anything else. Given that he was so big, we just backed off and took our medicine and figured we would wait for here. The general consensus was if he's a nice horse, he'll be a nice horse in June, too. Hopefully we will be rewarded for our patience.”

The June sale has become less a liability and more of an attractive option for horses who needed the extra time.

“I think the same guys that shop all of the other sales will shop June,” Dunne said. “There are horses in here that were in March and April and maybe caught an unfavorable racetrack or just something didn't go to plan. If there are legitimate reasons why they are here, I don't think there is any negative to them being here.”

Dunne purchased the Blame colt for $210,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

“The trend, I think, in the 2-year-old market is they want big, two-turn horses,” Dunne said. “If you can get a horse who looks like he will go long and shows the kind of speed that he's got, then you're going to get paid. More so than with the ready-made spring 2-year-old types. So it was a lot of money for him [as a yearling], but he was a beautiful horse. He's always been a beautiful horse.”

The proliferation of high-power partnerships in search of those two-turn type colts at the yearling sales last year pushed most pinhookers out of that segment of the market. That has led to a dearth of those well-pedigreed colts at the 2-year-old sales this spring.

“The most common thing we heard when we were in Timonium [at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May sale] was that there was a lack of two-turn colts,” Dunne said. “It seemed to be that it was strong on fillies, but light on colts. Hopefully those guys that were shopping colts there and couldn't find them will be here [at OBS].”

Dunne continued, “Some of the colts that were bringing the bigger money [at previous 2-year-old sales this year] were by stallions that the majority of yearling buyers would have turned their noses up at,” Dunne said. “Whereas the fillies that were selling well, by and large, had pedigree. There is just been a shortage of good colts. If you were lucky enough to have one, you got paid.”

A filly by Kantharos (hip 431) turned in Wednesday's fastest furlong of :9 4/5. Consigned by Brayhan Cruz's Cruzin' Thoroughbreds, the bay filly is out of Souper Colket (Ghostzapper) and from the family of multiple graded stakes winner Blofeld. She was purchased for $17,000 by Laura Kelton at last year's Keeneland September sale.

The under-tack show continues through Saturday with sessions beginning daily at 7:30 a.m. The June sale will be held next Tuesday through Thursday. Bidding commences each day at 10 a.m.

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Launched in 2019 by the enterprising team at the Essex track, which continues to punch well about its weight on the prize-money front, the Cardinal's three winners to date (there was no race in 2020 during the pandemic) have not taken up the challenge for Churchill Downs. This year, however, two of the 11 declared runners have already earned points elsewhere, and a win on Saturday, which is worth 30 points, would have both sets of connections seriously considering a trip to Kentucky in early May.

Leading the charge in this regard is Middleham Park Racing's Brave Emperor (Ire) (Sioux Nation), who has already given his syndicate of owners much cause for cheer by winning five of his seven starts to date, including the Listed Prix de la Californie at Cagnes-sur-Mer followed by Kempton Park's 'Road to the Kentucky Derby' Conditions S. on March 15, for which he earned 20 points for the American Classic. The Aidan O'Brien-trained Cairo (Ire) (Quality Road) accrued the same number of points for winning Dundalk's Listed Patton S. and was subsequently tenth in the G2 UAE Derby on Saturday. 

“It's been a bit of a whirlwind,” Middleham Park Racing's Tom Palin told TDN. “It only really came on our radar since he got his head in front at Kempton. I must admit it was never really something we had thought about, or a careful piece of race placement to try to target him at the Kentucky Derby. But when he won at Kempton we realised that he picked up 20 points and we were made aware that he was joint-top of the European series with Cairo, and then Cairo didn't pick up an extra points at the weekend.”

Middleham Park Racing also fields the George Scott-trained four-time winner Coco Jack (Ire) (Wings Of Eagles {Fr}), who was previously fifth to Brave Emperor at Kempton, while Charlie Appleby is represented by the treble winner and 101-rated Bold Act (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}). James Tate's unbeaten Iconic Moment (Ire) (Harry Angel {Ire}), recent winner of the Listed Spring Cup at Lingfield and a dual scorer at Chelmsford, looks likely to start favourite. 

Palin continued, “Obviously we need to see what happens on Saturday. It looks a very competitive race, and I even think our other horse, Coco Jack, could come in and upset the applecart. George is very bullish about him. It's a super-competitive race but if he picks up enough points to secure his berth, that's when the syndicate will have to have a bit of a grown-up chat. There would still be the small matter of about $30,000 to run and more than that to get him across there and back. But as the saying goes, 'you've got to be in it to win it', and that's exactly what we did last Monday, we put him in there. Everybody has heard of the Kentucky Derby, everybody wants to run for the roses, so if you've got a secure berth it's certainly something one should be having a serious conversation about.”

BRAVE EMPEROR is on the European Road to the #KyDerby! pic.twitter.com/5BoUL4FO9z

— Kentucky Derby (@KentuckyDerby) March 15, 2023

A stellar 2022 season saw another of the Middleham Park Racing syndicates win the G1 Prix de l'Abbaye with The Platinum Queen (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB}), who was subsequently sold for 1.2 million gns to Katsumi Yoshida. She has remained in training for the leading Japanese owner and has been switched from Richard Fahey's stable to that of Roger Varian.

Eddie's Boy (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) was another to carry the silks with aplomb, winning the valuable Weatherbys Super Sprint and the G3 Prix Eclipse, and finishing second in the G2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte. He was sold at the Tattersalls Horses-in-Training Sale for 320,000gns to continue his career in Qatar. The Middleham Park Racing model clearly raises the possibility of Brave Emperor being fully or part-sold should he earn a start at Churchill Downs. 

“Absolutely,” Palin agreed. “The decision is ultimately up to the people in the syndicate. It's not what we want to do, it's what the owners want to do. But they also want to fund their racing for the next four or five years so in some ways the ideal scenario for everybody would be if we were to partner up with somebody, perhaps an American client who wanted a runner in Kentucky Derby and was interested in taking half. 

“Getting him there would wipe out all of the prize-money he has earned so far, and that represents several years' racing for the owners. But it really is very special stuff to be able to talk about it. We were at the Cheltenham Festival after Red Risk had run there and we just finishing up in the bar when Brave Emperor won at Kempton. It was a bit surreal, thinking we were standing there at Cheltenham and suddenly we had the possibility of the Kentucky Derby.”

He added, “He's been fantastic and what's really quite special is that the vast majority of the owners who are involved in Brave Emperor were involved in Eddie's Boy as well. So they are having a real time of it at the moment, they're living the dream.”

Archie Watson, who trains Brave Emperor, a gelded grandson of Scat Daddy, said, “How many times do you get the opportunity to have a runner in a race like that? Personally, I feel he would probably suit the Preakness more, but he's done nothing wrong. On pedigree you'd probably say that it would be worth giving the dirt a try, and also on the way he runs, because he does tend to grind it out. That style of running should suit the dirt, but I guess there are a lot of unknowns, like going up two furlongs for the Derby.

“He's as tough as nails and we definitely haven't got to the bottom of him. He responds well and is tough in a battle.”

He added, “I know he's a Listed winner already but I'd say Saturday will be his hardest test yet. With the Godolphin horse coming in and another horse who has won his last three that we haven't met yet, it looks a strong race. I haven't seen the betting but I'd be hopeful he'll confirm his form with the others, for all that it might be close.”

It was a bit surreal, thinking we were standing there at Cheltenham and suddenly we had the possibility of the Kentucky Derby

Among Brave Emperor's rivals, and with six Kentucky Derby points to his credit following his third-place finish behind Cairo in the Patton S., is the Charles Fipke homebred Stormy Entry (Point Of Entry). Having made his debut when second at Dundalk on December 16, he has subsequently won twice there under the tutelage of the man best known as a breeze-up maestro, Willie Browne.

“Mr Fipke is a sportsman, and he likes his racing, so he wants to give it a go,” said Browne, who also trained the Listed Star Appeal S. winner Spirit Gal (Fr) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) for the same owner-breeder last season.

“The handicapper would suggest that we have little chance but he's a nice horse and I'm sure that even though he does look like one of the lesser ones in the field he'll probably give a good account of himself. A truly-run race would suit him, he's in good form, and he travelled over well [Thursday morning], so we're going to give it a go.”

Stormy Entry is also luring leading jockey Seamie Heffernan across the Irish Sea on Saturday.

Browne added, “Having Seamie is a plus for us as he knows the horse and he likes him, so why not?

“I think he has improved and the style of racing in Chelmsford in particular–they seem to go a good gallop–would suit him, but that said this does look tough and we probably haven't the best draw. Mr Fipke loves his horses and he bred this horse. Needless to say, if something did happen, he's be on his way to Kentucky in a hurry. It's ambitious, but you never know.”

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“He's going,” Fernando said of the 2022 GI Maker's Mark Mile hero. “He's doing well with Roger Attfield down in Florida.”

The February S. is one of only two Group 1 races alongside the Champions Cup conducted on dirt by the Japanese Racing Association (JRA), but the competition is no less fierce, as illustrated by last year's Japanese Champion Dirt Horse, Café Pharoah (American Pharoah, who earned his year-end accolade partially by setting a new stakes record of 1:33.80 in the 2022 edition, his second consecutive victory in the event.

“It's a very complex thing to get to this race, because unlike other races that are usually international races that are invitational races, this is not an invitational,” he said. “We had to nominate, get accepted, etc. Then, Mr. Fipke's got to pay for everything to go there. It's a pretty expensive proposition too.”

The magnitude of the Fipke team's February S. attempt is not lost on Fernando, who said of Fipke's vision, “[It's] really two things–he's one of the few North American owners who are actually licensed to race in Japan. That's number one. Number two, he also breeds a few mares in Japan every year. He's got a good relationship with Northern Farm and Katsumi Yoshida. He's got a runner in Japan, as well, who last year won a couple of races–Kana Tape (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) and he's an adventurer. He's a guy that is very interested in the international game. He's raced in South Africa before and bred in South Africa. He's a guy that's got horses in Australia, won races last year in Australia, races in Dubai. His entire career was built on a bunch of adventuring and discovering diamond mines. This all fits his sensibilities.

“And, on top of all of that, he'd like to also try to win a Grade 1 race on dirt with Shirl's Speight. 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.”

A versatile campaigner, the son of GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare shocker Perfect Shirl (Perfect Soul {Ire}) has not graced the racetrack since running a good second to likely Eclipse Champion Turf Male Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the GI Breeders' Cup Mile at Keeneland in November. Shirl's Speight is already a graded winner on two surfaces, having won the GIII Marine S. over the Woodbine all-weather as a juvenile. The GIII Tampa Bay S. on turf went his way at four to go with his Maker's Mark heroics, and, most encouragingly, the 5-year-old did run third in the GIII Salvator Mile S. over the Monmouth main track last June.

A major feather in the Fipke camp's cap is their rider selection for the 2023 February S. None other than legendary Brazilian jockey Joao “Magic Man” Moreira, a four-time champion rider in Hong Kong, has signed on to ride the 5-year-old. Moreira booted home 76 winners from 217 starters in 2018, the year he rode predominantly in Japan.

Added Fernando, “We've booked the Magic Man, Joao Moreira to ride. He's got a [job] to ride in Australia two weeks before he goes to Japan with [Australian Champion Trainer Chris] Waller.”

Shirl's Speight's international engagements will not end in Japan either, as Fernando revealed that the 1800-metre G1 Dubai Turf on grass at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai on Mar. 25 would be next on the entire's dance card.

“The bigger plan, is that he's going to go there, then he's going to fly to Dubai for the 1800-metre Group 1 race on turf in Dubai on Dubai World Cup day,” said Fernando.

“It's a very complex logistical thing with quarantine, flights, etc.,” said Fernando. “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.”

Targets Set For Budding Stars

Fipke also has multiple opportunities to enjoy international action in 2023, besides his stable star. He enjoyed a winner over the Dundalk synthetic as recently as Wednesday evening when homebred Stormy Entry (Point Of Entry), a son of Fipke's GI Natalma S. bridesmaid Stormy Perfection (Tale of the Cat), won the seven-furlong nightcap. In addition, Irish listed heroine Spirit Gal (Fr) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), who took Fipke to the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Keeneland, will be prepared for a run in the G1 French 1000 Guineas in May.

“He's got horses in Europe–he just won a race last night in fact, at Dundalk, a Point Of Entry colt,” said Fernando. “And he's got a stakes-winning filly by Invincible Spirit (Ire), Spirit Gal (Fr), that's with Andre Fabre and is being prepared for the G1 French 1000 Guineas.”

Back in 2017, Fipke homebred, eventual GI Metropolitan H. victor and sire Bee Jersey (Jersey Town) ran second to subsequent dual G1 Dubai World Cup winner Thunder Snow (Ire) (Helmet {Aus}) in the G3 UAE 2000 Guineas. Fast forward to Dec. 23, 2022 and Bee Jersey colt Shirl's Bee graduated at first asking at Meydan. Trained by American ex-pat Doug Watson, the chestnut is aiming to go one better for his sire on Feb. 10.

Said Fernando, “He's got Shirl's Bee who won his debut really impressively there and is going next in the [G3] UAE 2000 Guineas.

For Fipke, 2023 will be a year dedicated to exploring the next frontier in the Thoroughbred world beginning with an exclusive visit to Japan.

The post In Historic First, Fipke’s Shirl’s Speight To Run In February S. In Japan appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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