3rd-BEL, $70K, OC ($80K), 3yo/up, 1m, post time: 1:28 p.m. ET
Phipps Stable and Claiborne Farm’s Performer (Speightstown) makes his belated first start of the year. The Shug McGaughey trainee has been off since winning his fourth straight (from five attempts) in Aqueduct’s nine-panel GIII Discovery S. Nov. 30. His third dam is MGSIW My Flag (Easy Goer), who in turn produced champion juvenile filly Storm Flag Flying (Storm Cat). TJCIS PPs
7th-KEE, $70K, Msw, 2yo, f, 7f 184 ft., post time: 4:24 p.m. ET
Well-related firsters take on formidable runners with experience in this wide-open event. Woodford Thoroughbreds homebred Wicked Bisou (Wicked Strong) is a half to none other than recently retired MGISW and champion Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute). Woodford sold their GSW dam Diva Delite (Repent) for $750,000 in foal to Pioneerof the Nile at FTKNOV ’18–she brought $1.2 million in foal to Justify a year later. Tom Amoss will send out both Wicked Bisou and Miss Dial (Dialed In). The latter is a full-sister to MSW near millionaire and 2018 GI Breeders’ Cup F/M Sprint runner-up Chalon. A $165,000 KEESEP yearling, she cost $310,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale off a swift :10 flat breeze. Steve Asmussen pupil Willful Woman (Nyquist), a $400,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga grad, is out of MSW/MGSP Foxy Danseur (Mr. Greeley), making her a half to former Asmussen trainee and 2017 GIII Fantasy S. heroine Ever So Clever (Medaglia d’Oro). TJCIS PPs
5th-Keeneland, $71,000, Alw, 10-10, (NW2L), 3yo/up, 6f, 1:09.10, ft, 9 3/4 lengths. NASHVILLE (c, 3, Speightstown–Veronique, by Mizzen Mast), a $460,000 KEESEP yearling purchase, ran away with his career bow in the slop with a dazzling, front-running ‘TDN Rising Star’ performance at Saratoga Sept. 2, good for a 91 Beyer Speed Figure. He displayed a string of sharp works in the interim, including a pair of bullets, working four furlongs over Saratoga’s Oklahoma training track in :48 (1/32) two back Sept. 27. Hammered down to 1-2 favoritism in this first attempt versus winners, the bay ran the field off their feet right from the start. Jumping out to a clear advantage, Nashville was well within himself as he zipped through opening splits of :22.18 and :45.06, and he cruised home under a motionless Ricardo Santana, Jr. to win by a jaw-dropping 9 3/4 lengths over Sounion (Liam’s Map). Nashville’s unraced dam is also represented by the placed 2-year-old colt Market Cap (Candy Ride {Arg}) and a Mastery colt of 2019 and filly of 2020. The 9-year-old was bred to Collected for 2021. Nashville’s third dam Set Them Free (Stop the Music) produced 2005 GI Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo (Holy Bull) and MGISW Tiago (Pleasant Tap). Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $82,200. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. O-CHC INC. & WinStar Farm LLC; B-Breffni Farm (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen.
Lady Speightspeare, under vigorous handling by Emma-Jayne Wilson, punched her ticket to the Breeders' Cup with a three-quarter length score in Sunday's Grade 1 Natalma Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario.
A victory in the $253,000 Natalma, a one-mile “Win and You're In” Challenge Series turf race for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, earned Lady Speightspeare a fees-paid berth in the Grade 1, $1 million Juvenile Fillies, which will be run at Keeneland this year on November 6.
Lady Speightspeare, owned and bred by Charles Fipke and conditioned by Roger Attfield, came into the Natalma off a front-running victory over seven furlongs on the E.P. Taylor turf course and was the slight 5-2 favorite in the field of seven 2-year-old fillies for the Natalma. And although the Kentucky-bred was skittish when first entering the starting gate, forcing Wilson to bail out, she was all business once the pair had reunited and reloaded.
“In the starting gate, she acted up a little bit, but a little bit was a testament to her intent. Last time she ran, she was such a racehorse,” said Wilson, who had ridden Lady Speightspeare to the front-end victory in her only previous start. “She broke through the pack early and went to the lead with such intent, I think it was the same thing today in the gate. She knew it was coming, they yelled 'last one,' she was anticipating the doors to open so she popped up a little.
“But kudos to the gate crew here at Woodbine, they kept her straight and steady so, despite her rearing, she didn't manage to get herself hung up or hurt in anyway, which meant she was able to compete and win today.”
While Lady Speightspeare had settled into second place in the Natalma after Big Big Plans, the rank outsider in the field, showed the way through fractions of :23.77, :47.92 and 1:11.59.
“It's interesting, she relaxed better than I expected but I wasn't overly surprised,” said the jockey.
“Like I said, in her first start, she ran to the lead with gumption and it took me by surprise. Today, there was little more pace in the race, and I didn't want to get hung up, caught up in between.
“When we've been training her since then, she's known more, she's settled more in her breezes with her intensity so I was hopeful that would translate into the race today and it did. The doors opened and I just kind of put my hands down and the outside horse out-stepped her the first little bit and she showed that composure of a race horse, she knew that she was going to get a chance to run and I had a chance to let that horse cross over and just put her right on her flank and she settled into stride, got into rhythm and, man, when they started to come to her, just like last time, she really leveled off and dug in.”
Lady Speightspeare finally put away the longshot leader with a furlong to run and held sway for her game victory.
Alda, returning from Fair Hill, Maryland after capturing the Catch A Glimpse over 6 1/2 furlongs of turf, held a decided edge in experience on the winner and while she loomed a serious threat in mid-stretch, she was simply unable to track her down.
The strong second choice at 2.60-1, Alda finished 2 3/4 lengths to the good of Seasons, who had trailed the field at the quarter pole but rallied to snatch third money by a head from Dreaming of Drew.
Dreaming of Drew, who had missed narrowly in the Catch A Glimpse, stalked throughout on the inside but was unable to mount an effective rally.
Sleek Lynx raced within striking distance but also was unable to close the gap and checked in fifth, another three-quarters of a length back.
Stunning Princess and Big Big Plans completed the order of finish as the mile was clocked in 1:34.61 on firm going.
Lady Speightspeare was the third Natalma winner for dual Hall of Famer Attfield, who sent out the superstar Alywow to capture the 1993 running and Llanarmon to turn the trick in 2013.
And the trainer was more than pleased that his charge had shown an ability to rate after her 3 3/4-length debut win.
“That's always nice to see,” said Attfield. “When you break your maiden and you're going into a race like this off of going wire-to-wire you really haven't had any education or anything going into something like this so it was nice to see that for sure.”
Regarding a Breeders' Cup venture, Attfield minced no words.
“Well, that would be up to Mr. Fipke, and I would say knowing Mr. Fipke we probably are,” he said.
A daughter of Speightstown and the Theatrical mare, Lady Shakespeare, Lady Speightspeare returned $7, $3.90 and $2.90. The 6-5 exacta with Alda ($3.70, $3) was worth $21.90, the 6-5-2 trifecta rounded out by Seasons ($3.50) came back at $97.70, and the 6-5-2-4 superfecta completed by Dreaming of Drew came back at $95.85.
Chuck Fipke’s Lady Speightspeare, named a ‘TDN Rising Star’ for an impressive frontrunning debut victory, backed that distinction up with a gusty success in Sunday’s GI Natalma S. at Woodbine, punching her ticket to the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf in the “Win and You’re In” event.
Unveiled as a 22-5 chance going seven furlongs over this course Aug. 22, the chestnut dictated terms and drew away down the lane to a 3 3/4-length graduation, with the runner-up also finishing six clear of the remainder. Drilling a sharp five-furlong bullet in :58 3/5 (1/7) over the Woodbine training turf Sept. 13, she was made a fractional favorite over morning-line choice and local Catch A Glimpse S. heroine Alda.
Breaking smartly after acting up in the gate, Lady Speightspeare was taken into the clear by Emma-Jayne Wilson and tracked longshot Big Big Plans from a close-up second through splits of :23.77 and :47.92. It briefly looked as though the frontrunner would steal away midway around the turn, but Lady Speightspeare drew alongside her by the time heads pointed for home. Going on with it entering the final furlong, she was attacked late by Alda from her outside, but stayed on strongly to hold that rival at bay.
“In the starting gate, she acted up a little bit, but [it] was a testament to her intent. Last time she ran, she was such a racehorse,” said Wilson. “She broke through the pack early and went to the lead with such intent, I think it was the same thing today in the gate. She knew it was coming, they yelled ‘last one,’ she was anticipating the doors to open so she popped up a little. The doors opened and I just kind of put my hands down and the outside horse out-stepped her the first little bit and she showed that composure of a racehorse, she knew that she was going to get a chance to run and I had a chance to let that horse cross over and just put her right on her flank and she settled into stride, got into rhythm and, man, when they started to come to her, just like last time, she really leveled off and dug in.”
Pedigree Notes:
Now one of 116 stakes winners, 57 graded stakes winners and 19 Grade I winners for WinStar stalwart Speightstown, Lady Speightspeare is the first black-type performer out of Lady Shakespeare, victress of the 2009 Ontario Colleen S. over this course and the GII New York S. and GIII Grey Goose Bewitch S. in 2010. She is a half-sister to Perfect Shirl (Perfect Soul {Ire}), who carried the Fipke colors to victory in the 2011 GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, and a full-sister to MGISW Shakespeare, who took the GI Woodbine Mile S. here as a 6-year-old in 2017. Second dam Lady Shirl was a GISW over turf as well. Lady Shakespeare has a yearling More Than Ready filly and foaled a colt by the same sire Mar. 28 before visiting Bee Jersey.
Sunday, Woodbine NATALMA S.-GI, C$253,000, Woodbine, 9-20, 2yo, f, 1mT, 1:34.61, fm.
1–LADY SPEIGHTSPEARE, 121, f, 2, by Speightstown 1st Dam: Lady Shakespeare (MGSW-USA, SW-Can, $495,608), by Theatrical (Ire) 2nd Dam: Lady Shirl, by That’s a Nice 3rd Dam: Canonization, by Native Heritage 1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I WIN. O/B-Charles Fipke (KY); T-Roger L. Attfield; J-Emma-Jayne Wilson. C$150,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $146,394. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Alda, 121, f, 2, by Munnings 1st Dam: Soldata, by Maria’s Mon 2nd Dam: Soldera, by Polish Numbers 3rd Dam: La Pepite, by Mr. Prospector
O/B-Wertheimer et Frere (KY); T-H. Graham Motion. C$50,000.
3–Seasons, 121, f, 2, by Tapit 1st Dam: Winter Memories, by El Prado (Ire) 2nd Dam: Memories of Silver, by Silver Hawk 3rd Dam: All My Memories, by Little Current
O-LNJ Foxwoods & Phillips Racing Partnership; B-Phillips Racing Partnership (KY); T-James J. Toner. C$27,500.
Margins: 3/4, 2 3/4, HD. Odds: 2.50, 2.60, 5.05.
Also Ran: Dreaming of Drew, Sleek Lynx (GB), Stunning Princess, Big Big Plans. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
