Attfield playing catch-up with Shirl's Speight in King Edward
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ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Saturday’s Grade 2 King Edward is a prep for next month’s Grade 1 Woodbine Mile, and Shirl’s Speight needs to get a race under his girth more than any other horse in the one-mile turf event to set him up for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup qualifier.
A Grade 1-winning turf miler, Shirl’s Speight had an ambitious winter campaign, to say the least. The 6-year-old finished ninth in the Group 1 February Stakes on the dirt in Japan. He subsequently flew to Dubai, where he finished a creditable fourth in the $5 million Dubai Turf in March, a performance trainer Roger Attfield was content with.
“It was a very good race,” Attfield said. “If he’d had a bit better trip, he would have been much closer. The Japanese race was a waste of time because he wasn’t going to run well going a mile on the dirt.”
Attfield said Shirl’s Speight got sick when returning to North America.
“He got colic along with [three other] horses when they got back to the States,” Attfield said. “They were in Chicago for a week at a clinic, but they were all okay. Then, he had two months off at the farm because he couldn’t come back to Canada. He got turned out and got a little bit too fat.”
Attfield said Shirl’s Speight has trained encouragingly leading up to the $200,000 King Edward, in which he’s the 126-pound highweight under Emma-Jayne Wilson.
“He’s been working really well, like he always does,” Attfield said. “He’s carrying more weight than I want him to carry. This is kind of a pivotal race for me to get to the Woodbine Mile.”
Synthetic expert Treason is experimenting to see if he belongs in the Woodbine Mile.
Treason was ineffective in allowance company after landing his debut on the Belmont Park turf in 2021. Following a trainer change from Bill Mott to Josie Carroll last year, the 5-year-old was gelded prior to his first Woodbine outing in September on the Tapeta, an allowance that he won by 16 1/2 lengths with a 101 Beyer Speed Figure.
This year, Treason won the Grade 2 Eclipse in June and is coming off a runner-up finish to stablemate Tyson in the Grade 3 Dominion Day on July 1.
LNJ Foxwoods co-owner Jaime Roth believes the jury’s still out regarding Treason’s ability on the grass.
“His maiden win at Belmont was impressive,” Roth recalled. “I think he went off at [25-1] because people know Bill Mott doesn’t have them cranked on to win first out, but he did anyways. This will be the first time on turf [for him] since being gelded.”
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The King Edward lured nine others, including Maryland-based Pao Alto and 2021 Woodbine Mile victor Town Cruise.
◗ Maryland shipper Clitheroe heads a field of seven in Saturday’s $125,000 Sweet Briar Too Stakes, a six-furlong main-turf sprint. The versatile 4-year-old was in solid turf form when she came here July 22 to finish second to favored Loyalty in the Grade 3 Hendrie on the Tapeta.
Graham Motion, who trains both Pao Alto and Clitheroe, is no stranger to success on the Woodbine turf.
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