Eclipse Award champion sprinter and perennial leading sire Speightstown’s story was one of perseverance and patience. He was a milestone horse in various ways for his connections, who tended him through injuries and later colic surgeries to reach the pinnacle of both his careers.  WinStar bid farewell to the versatile stallion, who left a number of first- and second-generation progeny to carry on his legacy, on Dec. 8 as the farm announced that he had been euthanized at age 25 due to foot issues from old age.  “We’ve been through a lot together in the last 19 years,” WinStar stallion manager Larry McGinnis said in the farm’s press release. “We’ll miss our friend.” Speightstown was fondly known as “Speighty” around the barn, and his longtime groom was Luis Galvez.  “We did not lose a great horse, a champion, a great stallion – for us, the stallion division, we lost a family member,” Galvez said via the farm.  Speightstown, by Gone West and out of Canadian champion Silken Cat, was bred in Kentucky by Aaron and Marie Jones. He was a $2 million Keeneland July yearling purchase by Eugene Melnyk, from the consignment of Taylor Made Farm. That outfit would remain involved with his story, as WinStar and Taylor Made both acquired shares in Speightstown later in his career.  Trained by Todd Pletcher, Speightstown won 10 of 16 starts, only missed the board twice, and earned more than $1.2 million. His consistency and accomplishments were more remarkable as injuries hampered his career. After Speightstown finished second in the Grade 2 Amsterdam as a 3-year-old, a knee injury caused him to miss his entire 4-year-old season. He returned from a 21-month layoff, in May 2003, to win an allowance race – defeating Volponi, who was making his first start since winning the prior fall’s Breeders’ Cup Classic.  Speightstown finished second in the off-the-turf Jaipur Handicap – but then was forced to the sidelines for another 10 months. During that 5-year-old season, Tom Ryan, now of SF Bloodstock, tried to acquire Speightstown as a stallion prospect for a regional market, he recalled while remembering the stallion in a series of social media posts. But his connections persevered.  Speightstown finally got a chance to blossom as a 6-year-old in 2004. After winning the Artax Handicap at Gulfstream, the Grade 2 Churchill Downs Handicap, and Grade 2 True North at Belmont, he won the Grade 2 Alfred G. Vanderbilt at Saratoga, blitzing the six furlongs in 1:08.04. That tied the track mark of 1:08 set by Spanish Riddle in 1972, when times were recorded in fifths.  Speightstown finished third in the Grade 1 Vosburgh at Belmont, before bouncing right back for his signature victory in the 2004 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Lone Star Park, winning by 1 1/4 lengths to secure his divisional Eclipse title. Speightstown and Ashado, who had earlier in the card won the Distaff, were the first Breeders’ Cup winners for Pletcher, and they led his stable to his first of now eight Eclipse Awards as outstanding trainer.  Speightstown retired to WinStar Farm as a venture with Taylor Made, for the 2005 season. It was the early years for what has become one of the biggest stallion operations in the country. Kenny Troutt and Bill Casner had acquired WinStar, formerly Prestonwood Farm, in 2000; included in the purchase were the stallions Distorted Humor and Kris S. WinStar made a splash by introducing Tiznow at stud in 2002, and the operation was still in its nascent years when Speightstown came into the barn.  “Speightstown was a foundational sire for WinStar and helped stamp our legacy as a sire-making farm,” WinStar president and CEO Elliott Walden said.  Speightstown retired in a vintage class of horses who have consistently been prominent on the leading sires list, with Candy Ride, Medaglia d’Oro, and Tapit all entering stud in 2005. Before joining that competition, however, Speightstown had another hurdle to overcome. He underwent minor colic surgery in December 2004, but was fully recovered in time for the start of his first breeding season in February.  Speightstown had to undergo procedures again for colic in April 2010 and in November 2012, with McGinnis and his staff shepherding the stallion through a successful recovery each time.  “Thankfully, WinStar got him on a schedule that worked for him,” wrote Ryan, whose SF Bloodstock became a major supporter of the stallion along the way. “He never needed another trip to the clinic. Speightstown was resilient from day one – few would overcome all of those hurdles. Full credit to WinStar.”  Speightstown came out by finishing fifth on the 2008 freshman sire list behind Tapit – who amassed then-record earnings for the category – Lion Heart, Medaglia d’Oro, and Candy Ride. He climbed the ranks to become a perennial leading sire, with his best finishes being third on the earnings list of 2012 behind Giant’s Causeway and Tapit; and second to Giant’s Causeway the following year, with less than $600,000 separating them. He also was in the top 10 general sires by earnings in 2011, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.  Speightstown is the sire of 917 winners – including 149 stakes winners – for progeny earnings of more than $155.4 million through Dec. 10. His six champions worldwide include three Canadian champions – millionaire sprinter Essence Hit Man; Grade 1 winner Lady Speightspeare; and Bold Script. He also is the sire of Belgian champion Barbados Bob, Scandanavian champion Downtown Leo, and Mobaadel, a champion in Bahrain.  Speightstown has become known as a versatile sire, with his offspring performing well on dirt, turf, and synthetic, and at both one and two turns. He is represented by a pair of Breeders’ Cup winners on different surfaces – Dirt Mile winner Tamarkuz and Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Sharing. He also is the sire of Grade/Group 1 winners including Charlatan, Competitionofideas, Dance to Bristol, Echo Town, Flagstaff, Force the Pass, Golden Ticket, Haynesfield, Jersey Town, Lexitonian, Lighthouse Bay, Mona de Momma, Mozu Superflare, Olympiad, Poseideon’s Warrior, Prince of Monaco, Reynaldothewizard, Rock Fall, Seek Again, Shirl’s Speight, and Switzerland.  "His progeny ran on dirt, turf, six furlongs to 1 1/4 miles, and they always showed their grit,” Walden said. “Like with any family member, he will be truly missed.” The aforementioned Prince of Monaco is among 95 current 2-year-olds, according to Equineline statistics, for Speightstown, whose legacy will continue to grow. On the day of his death, he was represented by two new maiden winners from this crop – Texas Town at Oaklawn and Dune Road at Aqueduct.  The stallion has 66 current yearlings, according to Equineline. Speightstown covered 89 mares in 2022 and 81 mares this year in his final season, according to The Jockey Club’s Report of Mares Bred.  Speightstown’s second-generation progeny also will play a role in his continuing legacy. He is the sire of more than two dozen sons at stud worldwide, notably Munnings, sire of five career Grade 1 winners and in the top 10 general sires each year since 2020. Speightstown’s son Central Banker has emerged as a leading sire in New York.  Young sons in the pipeline include Echo Town, with his first yearlings in 2023; Charlatan and Lexitonian, with their first foals this year; and Olympiad and stakes winner Nashville, expecting first foals in 2024.  Speightstown’s sireline has been extremely popular. According to The Jockey Club’s Report of Mares Bred, Jack Christopher, a son of Munnings, covered 247 mares in 2023, the fourth-biggest book in the country. Olympiad bred 228 mares for fourth, and Charlatan bred 223 mares for seventh. Nashville, standing at WinStar, bred 204 mares for 12th on the list. “We are fortunate to have his son Nashville in the shed row, and we look forward to seeing Speightstown’s legacy continue,” Walden said.  As a broodmare sire, Speightstown is represented by 41 stakes winners to date, led by Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Aloha West and Grade 1 winners Just One Time, Mia Mischief, Mischevious Alex, and Vekoma.  “He will continue to be a high-impact sire due to his ability to produce speed and versatility as a sire, a sire of sires, and a broodmare sire,” Ryan said. “There's no doubt that his sons and daughters will keep this very productive sire line in vogue for generations to come.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? 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