Souped-up Speechify continues to improve

MIAMI – Having had his career slowed by not one but two condylar fractures, and with a daily diet that basically consists of nothing more than soup, it’s a wonder Speechify can still race at all, let alone defeat a quality field like he did in the Kenny Noe Jr. Stakes on Sunday at Gulfstream Park West.

Making just his second start since suffering his second condylar fracture during a workout in January, Speechify dominated seven rivals in the six-furlong Kenny Noe, drawing off to a 3 3/4-length victory under Paco Lopez.

Trained by Ralph Nicks and owned by Team Valor International, Speechify received a 95 Beyer Speed Figure, the best of his seven-race career.

“In one way, it didn’t surprise me that he ran like that because he’s showed me that kind of talent, especially the race he ran against Happy My Way last year,” Nicks said, referring to Speechify’s second-place finish behind the Grade 3-winning sprinter. “But when I looked at the numbers before the race, I thought he might just be overmatched in there. That was a solid field of older horses he was up against. So considering it was only his second start since January and all the problems he’s had, the way he ran was a little surprising, and at the same time awfully impressive.”

Speechify is one of three horses Nicks has for Team Valor among the 35 he has stabled at Gulfstream Park.

“He’s had an obstruction in his esophagus all his life,” Nicks said. “His swallowing hole is about the size of a nickel, so everything we give him to eat has to be in liquid form. Basically he eats soup. We add what supplements we can and somehow he manages to maintain his weight real well, which is kind of odd because he doesn’t get any real forage.”

Nicks mentioned the Grade 3 Mr. Prospector at Gulfstream at the end of December as a possible next start for Speechify.

Nicks also trains the very promising juvenile filly Cult Classic for Team Valor. An easy debut winner on Nov. 2, she could run back against entry-level allowance competition in her next start.