Lady Speightspeare has tough task in Dance Smartly

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Lady Speightspeare gave trainer Roger Attfield career win No. 2,000 when she dead-heated with Crystal Cliffs in the Grade 2 Nassau three weeks ago. She meets a tougher group of fillies and mares in Sunday’s Grade 2 Dance Smartly over 1 1/16 miles on the main turf at Woodbine.

Lady Speightspeare set an honest pace under Emma-Jayne Wilson in the one-mile Nassau. She turned back a bid from Our Flash Drive in the stretch while Crystal Cliffs rallied outside. They hit the wire together and both got a 93 Beyer Speed Figure.

Attfield said Lady Speightspeare had an unfortunate winter in Florida and spring in Kentucky while going winless in a series of graded stakes.

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“She was unlucky,” Attfield said. “A lot of different things happened that people didn’t really know about, and then Churchill was a disaster with that turf course. The jockey said she didn’t handle it – it was too loose. She’d trained well into [the Nassau], and I’m very proud of her.”

New York invader Wakanaka has been keeping some outstanding company and could go favored in the $200,000 Dance Smartly.

Wakanaka wound up second behind multiple Grade 1 winner Regal Glory in the Grade 1 Just a Game on June 11 at Belmont. Behind her in third was In Italian, who returned to capture the Grade 1 Diana at Saratoga.

Wakanaka was supplemented to the Dance Smartly at a cost of $3,000 by trainer Bill Mott.

Munnyfor Ro, the 2021 Woodbine Oaks winner, could hit the board as a longshot. She was third in her June 5 season debut in the Belle Mahone Stakes on the Tapeta, a race that trainer Kevin Attard said should set her up for a better performance.

“We needed to do something with her, and that seemed like the right race to start her off in,” Attard said. “We wanted her to have some time to bounce back, and I really like the way she’s trained.”

Trainer Mark Casse entered the European imports Fev Rover and Keyflower, along with Inthewinnerscircle.

Hendrie Stakes

Artie’s Princess will lock horns with Boardroom in Sunday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Hendrie, a six-furlong Tapeta sprint for fillies and mares.

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Artie’s Princess was Canada’s champion female sprinter in 2020, the highlight of which was a tight score over Boardroom in the Grade 2 Bessarabian. She’s exiting a victory over Ontario-sired rivals in her second race off a long layoff in the Ballade Stakes on June 26.

Boardroom notched her turf debut last time out in the Grade 2 Royal North, during which she wore down the equally classy Souper Sensational in the final strides in a gritty performance.

Lorena finished a clear second in the Ballade and has the look of a live longshot in the Hendrie.

“I thought she ran a really good race,” trainer Stu Simon said. “She chased a top mare. She took a run at her and couldn’t get by her. She wasn’t right this spring. She got sick on us. It just took her a while to come back around. I think she’s going to take another step forward.”