D'Amato wants to try Speedy Wilson going longer after stakes win
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DEL MAR, Calif. – Speedy Wilson, winner of the Real Good Deal Stakes for statebred 3-year-olds at seven furlongs last Friday at Del Mar, may be headed for open company and longer races.
Trainer Phil D’Amato said Sunday that he is eager to try Speedy Wilson around two turns, mentioning the $125,000 Shared Belief Stakes at a mile on Aug. 31 as a possibility.
“I’d like to stretch him out,” D’Amato said.
Speedy Wilson, who races for owner and breeder Nick Alexander, has won 3 of 5 starts, including the Golden State Juvenile for statebreds at seven furlongs at Del Mar last November. Two separate bouts with illness kept Speedy Wilson from starting this year until Friday.
In the last year, D’Amato said he has seen significant changes in Speedy Wilson.
“He was kind of a rogue 2-year-old,” D’Amato said. “We thought of gelding him. With a little hard work by my team, he’s been more professional.”
D’Amato finished first and second in the Real Good Deal Stakes, with Shea Brennan closing late to finish second by 1 3/4 lengths to Speedy Wilson. Shea Brennan, also owned by Alexander, is likely to race on grass in his next start, D’Amato said.
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