Shirl's Speight

A homebred Speightstown colt for Charles Fipke out of his 2011 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf winner Perfect Shirl, Shirl’s Speight made quite a first impression when rolling to an eight-length runaway in a seven-furlong turf sprint July 4 at Woodbine.

He took control from the start and set a solid pace before leaving nine challengers reeling in his wake as he surged clear in the stretch. Jockey Rafael Hernandez had taken his foot off the gas by the time they passed the sixteenth pole as Shirl’s Speight was geared down late and still covered the seven-eighths of a mile in 1:19.97. The seven-furlong course record at Woodbine is 1:19.22, set by Silent Poet in August 2019.

Trainer Roger Attfield next opted to witch him to the synthetic main track and stretch him out around two turns for the Grade 3, 1 1/16-mile Marine Stakes on July 25, 2020. Shirl’s Speight rated off the pace in the Marine, seized command on Hernandez's cue on the final turn, and shook free to a 2 3/4-length victory.

More than 18 months later, with five starts and one win in between, Shirl's Speight returned to the winner's circle in graded stakes company with an explosive win the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on Feb. 5, 2022. He stormed down the center of the track late and got up for the 9.50-1 upset win under Emma-Jayne Wilson.

Following that victory, Attfield entered Shirl’s Speight in a tough renewal of the Grade 1 Maker’s Mark Mile at Keeneland on April 15. With Luis Saez riding, Shirl’s Speight sat near the back of the seven-horse field, angled out at the top of the stretch, and closed furiously to edge favored Masen by a nose, securing his first Grade 1 victory.

Shirl’s Speight finished fourth in his next start, the Grade 1 Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic May 7 at Churchill Downs, and then third in the Grade 3 Salvator Mile Stakes on dirt at Monmouth Park on June 18.  He was back on the grass for his next two starts in Graded stakes races at Woodbine but failed to secure a finish better than fourth in either of those outings, which included a fourth-place finish in the Grace 1 Ricoh Woodbine Mile on Sept. 17.

Despite his seemingly mediocre form for much of the 2022 season, trainer Roger Attfield elected to send Shirl's Speight to the Breeders' Cup for a start in the Grade 1 $2 million Breeders' Cup Mile at Keeneland on Nov. 5. At 55-1 odds, Shirl's Speight was one of the longshots on the tote board, however, the 5-year-old horse came through with his best effort of the year in the Mile, finishing second in the 14-horse field and losing by just three-quarters of a length behind winning favorite Modern Games.