Recovered from wasp attack, Fipke heads to Japan for February Stakes

Owner and breeder Charles Fipke’s adventures – and misadventures – in geology and prospecting have taken him around the globe. Now, his Thoroughbreds are doing the traveling.

After a week in which he was represented by Soul Choice, the first Australian stakes winner in his colors, and Shirl’s Bee, who turned in a promising effort in Dubai, his homebred Grade 1 winner Shirl’s Speight will become the first foreign-based horse to contest Japan’s prestigious February Stakes on Feb. 19.

Shirl’s Speight, supervised by Roger Attfield’s assistant trainer Allyson Walker, arrived at Tokyo Racecourse on Feb. 8. Both Fipke and Attfield plan to travel to Japan this week.

That Fipke is well enough to attend is remarkable after he was attacked by killer bees in mid-January in Costa Rica. Fipke said that, while observing birds, he had forgotten his glasses, leading to getting lost in the jungle and being stung thousands of times by aggressive wasps, with some burrowing into his eardrum.

“I’d like to thank everyone who wished me well after I ran into a nest of killer bees in Costa Rica,” Fipke wrote in a Feb. 4 statement. “It has now been confirmed that the two bees extracted from my ear canal were of this variety. I am grateful to have survived, thanks to the excellent care I received in Costa Rica, and I plan to be extra careful when I cross a street again. Again, many thanks.”

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The bee attack was the latest brush with nature for Fipke, who was born in 1946 in Edmonton, Alberta. His career in mineralogy has taken him to locales including the Arctic Circle, Australia, Brazil, Papua New Guinea, and South Africa. He was often dropped off by helicopter – sometimes jumping from it if a safe landing wasn’t possible – and picked up later in an age before cell phones and instant communication.

In one incident, Fipke turned around to find several locals, arrows strung. He raised his arms and offered his vest to “the one who looked like the chief,” Fipke told Wired. By the time the helicopter returned for him, Fipke was in his underwear holding a collection of tribal shields and other objects.

Along the way, he also survived helicopter crashes, a bout with malaria, and encounters with wildlife. Eventually, Fipke found fame in his line of work for discovering diamonds in Canada, the first such mine in North America.

Fipke bought his first racehorse in 1981, and has become a consistently prominent owner and breeder. His runners have included Eclipse Award champion Forever Unbridled, winner of the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Distaff; 2011 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf winner Perfect Shirl; Grade 1 winners including Bee Jersey, Internallyflawless, Java’s War, Jersey Town, Lady Speightspeare, Perfect Soul, Seeking the Soul, Tale of Ekati, and Unbridled Forever; Queen’s Plate winner Not Bourbon; Breeders’ Stakes winner Danish Dynaformer; and classic-placed Golden Soul and Tale of Verve.

Many of his top horses have picked up Sovereign Awards in his home country. He was voted into the Canadian Hall of Fame in 2002 in the Builder category.

Fipke is active in the stallion market and strongly supports his former colorbearers. He stands Bee Jersey, Tale of Ekati, and Tale of Verve at Darby Dan in Kentucky, with Title Ready and Tale of Silence joining them this season. Perfect Soul is a pensioner at the farm. He also stands Seeking the Soul in Florida, Jersey Town in California, Forever d’Oro in Indiana, and Perfect Timber in Canada.

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Millionaire Shirl’s Speight, Fipke’s current leading star on the track, is a multi-generational homebred product. Winner of the Grade 1 Maker’s Mark Mile and second in the Breeders’ Cup Mile last year, the Speightstown horse is out of Perfect Shirl, who is by Fipke’s homebred Sovereign champion Perfect Soul.

Fipke has young homebreds targeting classics around the globe. Shirl’s Bee, by Jersey Town and out of a full sister to Perfect Shirl, was second in the Group 3 U.A.E. 2000 Guineas last Friday in just his second career start. The race is the local prep for the Group 2 U.A.E. Derby on March 25, a race that awards 100 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the winner. Shirl’s Bee, trained by Doug Watson, is a Triple Crown nominee.

Soul Choice, by Redoute’s Choice and out of a Perfect Soul mare, won the Strutt Stakes in Australia, and is now headed for the Tasmanian Oaks on Feb. 19, with the Australian Oaks in April a possibility.

Fipke’s holdings in Europe include Spirit Gal, a candidate for the French 1000 Guineas in May.

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