Shirl's Speight has solid work for Derby

ETOBICOKE, Ontario — There’s a lot of “speight” in trainer Roger Attfield’s barn, but in a good way.

The unbeaten Kentucky Derby prospect, Shirl’s Speight, recorded his second fast work over the dirt training track at Woodbine last Friday. He went an old-school mile in 1:39.20 in company with five others, starting off slowly under jockey Emma-Jayne Wilson and then finishing well under a drive.

“He came out of the work really, really well,” Attfield said. “It didn’t quite go the way I wanted it to. Right now, we’re still on the Derby thing.”

Shirl’s Speight is also nominated to the Grade 2 Pat Day Mile on the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby undercard. Attfield said he will probably breeze the Speightstown colt five-eighths on Friday before shipping to Churchill Downs the following week.

:: Click to learn about our DRF's Free Past Performance program.

Attfield said he’s reluctantly going to Kentucky, knowing that he’ll have to endure a 14-day quarantine period upon his return to Canada due to the pandemic.

“I don’t really want to, but I don’t want him down there with somebody else for that long a time,” he explained.

Attfield sent out Wood Memorial winner Talkin Man to finish 12th as the second choice in the 1995 Kentucky Derby, during which the son of With Approval was injured.

Attfield saddled Lady Speightspeare in a dominating first-out score going seven-eighths on the grass last Saturday. The 2-year-old filly is out of the Grade 2 winner Lady Shakespeare, who’s a half-sister to Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf winner Perfect Shirl, the dam of Shirl’s Speight. All were bred in Kentucky by their owner, Charles Fipke.

Attfield said Lady Speightspeare could run back in the Grade 1 Natalma, a Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re in qualifier here Sept. 20.

“Her mother was very good, and Speightstown gets runners all the time,” Attfield said. “She always trained like a nice filly.”

Attfield said Speightstown Shirl, another daughter of Speightstown, is getting close to making her first start.

“She’s a full sister to Shirl’s Speight,” Attfield said. “She’s very small, but I really like her. I’ve had a little bit of a cough in my babies, and [Lady Speightspeare] just got over it. [Speightstown Shirl] looks like she’s just about to get over it.”

Last leg of Turf Sprint Series

The final leg of the Woodbine Turf Sprint Series headlines Thursday’s card.

Hitters Park should be favored in the $25,000 starter allowance, which is scheduled for five furlongs on the inner turf. He won the opening leg under Kazushi Kimura, during which he ran down pacesetter Salieri, who could be the main threat again.

Reconfigure won the anchor leg of the series last year, but the 8-year-old is winless in nine starts since. Trainer Robert Tiller is reuniting him with Patrick Husbands.

The second leg of this year’s series was scrapped due to insufficient entries.