Tag: Lady Speightspeare

Ready for Shirl Another ‘TDN Rising Star’ For Fipke Family

Ready for Shirl (More Than Ready), a daughter of GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf upsetter Perfect Shirl (Perfect Soul {Ire}) from a wildly productive female family beautifully nurtured over the last 20 years by Charles Fipke and his team, jumped at odds of nearly 8-1 in a two-turn maiden over the Keeneland turf course Saturday afternoon.

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.

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Saturday’s Insights: Pricey Night Of Thunder Filly Makes First Start At Keeneland

5th-KEE, $100K, Msw, 3yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 3:08 p.m. ET.
SCARLET POPPY (IRE) (Night of Thunder {Ire}) makes the races after she was purchased by Stonestreet Stable and M.V. Magnier for 800,000gns at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. The Wesley Ward trainee has a trio of gelding half-brothers who have won stakes in Europe, including Ross Castle (Ire) (Bushranger {Ire}), Snazzy Jazzy (Ire) (Red Jazz) and Ten Year Ticket (Ire) (Rock of Gibraltar (Ire).

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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Jockey Club Of Canada Announces 2022 Sovereign Awards Finalists

The Jockey Club of Canada has announced the finalists for the 2022 Sovereign Awards recognizing Canada's outstanding achievements in Canadian Thoroughbred Racing and Breeding. The winner of each category, along with Canada's Horse of the Year for 2022, will be announced during the 48th Annual Sovereign Award ceremony held Thursday, April 13 at Universal Eventspace in Vaughan, Ontario.

The finalists in each of the following categories are listed in alphabetical order.

Champion Two-Year-Old Female: Cairo Consort (Cairo Prince), Last Call (English Channel), Renegade Rebel (Nyquist).

Champion Two-Year-Old Male: Philip My Dear (Silent Name {Jpn}), Poulin in O T (Reload), Velocitor (Mor Spirit).

Champion Three-Year-Old Female: Moira (Ghostzapper), Sister Seagull (Hard Spun), Souper Hoity Toity (Uncle Mo).

Champion Three-Year-Old Male: Hall of Dreams (Lemon Drop Kid), Ironstone (Mr Speaker), Sir for Sure (Sligo Bay {Ire}).

Champion Older Main Track Female: Infinite Patience (Sungold), Lady Speightspeare (Speightstown), Our Flash Drive (Ghostzapper).

Champion Older Main Track Male: Soy Tapatio (Not This Time), War Bomber (Ire) (War Front), Who's the Star (Tonalist).

Champion Female Turf Horse: Fev Rover (Ire (Gutaifan {Ire})), Lady Speightspeare (Speightstown), Moira (Ghostzapper).

Champion Male Turf Horse: Filo di Arianna (Brz) (Drosselmeyer), Philip My Dear (Silent Name {Jpn}), Ready for the Lady (More Than Ready), Sir for Sure (Sligo Bay {Ire}).

Champion Female Sprinter: Hazelbrook (Bayern), Lady Speightspeare (Speightstown), Our Flash Drive (Ghostzapper).

Champion Male Sprinter: Arzak (Not This Time), Filo di Arianna (Brz) (Drosselmeyer), Lucky Score (Lookin At Lucky).

The full list of categories and finalists can be viewed here.

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After Wasp Attack, Fipke Grateful to Be Alive

For Chuck Fipke, Saturday could have gone better. His Lady Speightspeare (Speightstown) finished fourth in the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational S. and with a better trip might have been closer.

“That's the way horse racing is,” the owner and breeder said. “I was kind of disappointed. For every time you do well in this sport, it seems that you are disappointed 50 times.”

Not that Fipke was complaining. With his having nearly died just 15 days before the race, it's easy to keep things in perspective.

On Jan. 13, Fipke was in Costa Rica where he was taking pictures of birds. He had forgotten to bring his glasses and was having trouble seeing. That led him to getting lost and he took a wrong turn and found himself in the thick of the jungle. It was there that he was attacked by a swarm of wasps.

“I was making my way through the jungle and I ran into the wasps,” he said. “They literally swarmed all over my body. I was bitten well over 2,000 times.”

From there, it was just a matter of whether or not he would live. Fipke said he passed out after the attack but he woke up in time to call out and was found by a young Costa Rican. With the assistance, he was taken to a four-wheel drive police vehicle and then transported to a small satellite hospital.

“I wasn't doing very well but they managed to get me from the satellite hospital to a really good local hospital with really good doctors,” he said.

He had come that far, but there were no guarantees that he would make it.

“The doctor there didn't think I would survive,” Fipke said. “He said he hadn't heard of anyone who had ever survived an attack like this. There are 400 different types of wasps, but these were really bad wasps. I didn't think I was going to make it. My fiancee didn't think I was going to make it and neither did the doctor. When you have some good horses like I do, you really don't want to die. On the one hand, I was very unlucky that this happened to me. On the other hand, I lived. So I was lucky.”

To make matters worse, some wasps had burrowed their way inside his eardrum, threatening his hearing. Fipke underwent a successful surgery to remove the wasps from his ear and his hearing was saved.

In time, and though he said the itching was unbearable, Fipke started to improve. On Jan. 20, he returned to a hospital in his native British Columbia, Canada and a few days later was released. He said he's now about 70% recovered. But he never considered traveling to Gulfstream.

“There was no way I could travel,” Fipke said. “It wasn't until the last few days that I started to improve and then I improved quite a bit.”

The wasp attack was not the first time Fipke has been seriously ill. He said he had previously suffered from a case of cerebral malaria, also a life-threatening illness.

“I wasn't supposed to survive the case of cerebral malaria, but I did,” Fipke said. “I've used up two of my nine lives. Seven to go.”

Lady Speightspeare has been one of top runners in the Fipke barn over the last few years. She won the GI Natalma S. in 2020, the same year she was named Canada's champion 2-year-old filly. In what may have been the best race of her career, she finished third in this year's GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. A five-time stakes winner, she earned $457,420.

The Pegasus was her last race and she will now be bred to Gun Runner. It will be a while before that foal makes it to the races, but Fipke should be around to watch its career unfold. He is a lucky man.

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