Speechify back from scary incident in turf sprint feature
Speechify, who miraculously escaped serious injury when he fell during the Grade 3 Woodford Stakes at Keeneland on Oct. 3, returns in Sunday’s $50,000 feature at Gulfstream Park West, to be decided under open allowance conditions at five furlongs on turf. The race attracted a field of 10 that also includes the stakes-caliber New York-bred Notacatbutallama from the barn of trainer Todd Pletcher.
Speechify was forwardly placed in the Woodford, a race switched from turf to a muddy main track, and fell hard when unable to avoid the favorite, Shore Runner, who broke down suddenly near midstretch. Trainer Ralph Nicks, watching the race on television from the paddock at Gulfstream Park, said he “feared the worst” after seeing his horse go down that day.
“It certainly wasn’t a good first impression I got, and then I felt so helpless because I couldn’t see what was happening immediately after the incident,” Nicks said. “Fortunately, he managed to escape the whole thing with just a little road rash, no injuries of any major impact. In fact, he was bucking and playing in his stall that night.
“I haven’t seen any ill effects from the fall ever since,” Nicks added. “He acts like nothing’s ever happened. He’s already overcome so much in his life. He’s really just an amazing individual with such a very strong will to survive.”
Speechify will be making only his third start on grass in Sunday’s headliner. He had rough trips in both previous tries on turf, including a second-place finish at Gulfstream Park under similar allowance conditions April 16. Speechify won the Grade 3 Mr. Prospector over the main track last December at Gulfstream.
“I don’t think the surface really matters with him, but I have felt all along he might be even better on turf than dirt,” said Nicks. “He’s doing well, drew a great post being on the outside, especially considering what happened in his last start, and I would expect him to run very well.”
Notacatbutallama will seek to snap an 11-race winless streak that extends back to August 2014, when he captured a statebred allowance race going a mile at Saratoga. Notacatbutallama, who has been stakes-placed twice since then, will be shortening up to five furlongs for the first time on grass.
Do the Roar, who has won three of his last four starts, including a pair of overnight stakes over the Gulfstream Park turf, looms among the other key contenders along with Maker’s horse Stormy Rocit.
Tap to It gets vacation
Nicks said the star of his stable, the 2-year-old homebred filly Tap to It, has been sent to GoldMark Farm for a little break following her sixth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.
Tap to It was a visually impressive winner of her debut at Saratoga before finishing second behind Rachel’s Valentina in the Grade 1 Spinaway in her only two starts prior to the Breeders’ Cup.
“Something went awry with her in the Breeders’ Cup. We just haven’t been able to put our finger on it,” said Nicks. “She had an accelerated heartbeat, and it took us a long time to cool her out after the race. The main thing is everything checked out fine, both physically and systemically, so we’ll just put a line through that last race. She’ll probably come in to us here at Gulfstream sometime in January, with the Gulfstream Park Oaks likely to be our first major goal this winter.”