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Lady Shakespeare 'bewitches' Keeneland rivals
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| Lady Shakespeare earned that
elusive first graded win in the Bewitch
(EquiSport Photos) |
Charles E. Fipke's homebred LADY SHAKESPEARE (Theatrical [Ire])
tracked the pace throughout Thursday's $150,000
Bewitch S. (G3) at Keeneland before rolling on past longtime leader
Changing Skies (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) in the stretch to earn her first
graded score. With jockey John Velazquez in the saddle, the Roger
Attfield trainee extended her margin to 2 1/2 lengths on the wire while
finishing the 1 1/2-mile firm turf marathon in 2:31 2/5.
Sent off the 9-5 favorite in the seven-filly field, Lady Shakespeare
paid $5.60, $3.20 and $2.80 while keying the $24.20 exacta and $286.80
trifecta. Changing Skies established splits of :27, :53, 1:18 1/5, 1:43
2/5 and 2:07 2/5 in the three-turn test, but couldn't hold off the late
charge of Lady Shakespeare. The runner-up was the 7-2 third pick and
returned $4 and $2.80 while two lengths clear of Sweet and Flawless
(Unbridled's Song), who gave back $6.20 as the 26-1 longest shot on the
board.
"I had a very good trip," Velazquez said. "I knew it was going to be
a slow pace. I saw the horse trained by Bill Mott (Changing Skies) in
front and I knew she was one of the ones to beat. We were going pretty
slow so I just wanted to keep her in striking distance so she wouldn't
get away from me too easy.
"Once I got her running -- once she switched to her right lead and
she started running really well -- I knew I got 'em then."
Magical Theater (Smart Strike) followed by another half-length to
conclude the 7-6-3-5 superfecta that totaled $1,347. Floating Heart
(Giant's Causeway), A She's Adorable (Johar) and Nehantic Kat (Tomorrows
Cat) finished out the order under the wire.
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As a full sister to multiple Grade 1 hero Shakespeare and a
half-sister to Grade 2-placed Fantastic Shirl (Fantastic Light), much
has been expected of Lady Shakespeare. She broke her maiden at first
asking in August of 2008 at Woodbine, but wasn't quite up to facing
stakes rivals when sixth in the Natalma S. (Can-G3) next out. The
chestnut didn't reappear until last year's Keeneland spring meet, where
she ran third in an allowance, and would try Woodbine's Polytrack next
out following those three initial turf starts.
The switch to synthetic seemed to wake up the filly, as she added an 8
1/2-furlong allowance victory to her line, before moving back to the turf and
racking up three more wins. Lady Shakespeare's win streak culminated with a 1
1/4-length score in the Ontario Colleen S., but she didn't take to the soft
going in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S. (G1) and wound up fifth to
conclude her sophomore season. A head second to open her four-year-old campaign
in both the Marshua's River S. and Orchid S. (G3), the Kentucky-bred lass
finally broke through with her initial graded triumph here to move her record to
11-6-2-1, $405,608.
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| Lady Shakespeare powered
past the pacesetter in the Bewitch
(EquiSport Photos) |
"She was very unlucky this winter," Attfield said. "I had to scratch her
four times in a row because of the wet courses that we had in Florida. Every time we entered her, we got a lot of rain so I had to keep scratching
her because she doesn't like real soft turf, which is what she showed in the
Queen Elizabeth here. She'll win a Grade 1, don't you worry."
Lady Shakespeare is out of Lady Shirl (That's a Nice), who earned more than
$1 million on the track after capturing such events as the 1991 Flower Bowl
Invitational H. (G1), E. P. Taylor S. (Can-G2) and Modesty H. (G3).
Shakespeare is Lady Shirl's fifth registered foal, and he would go on to take
the 2005 editions of the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational S. (G1) and
Belmont H. (G2) as well as the 2007 Woodbine Mile (Can-G1). The bay's only loss
from eight career starts came as a 12th placing in the 2005 Breeders' Cup Turf
(G1), and he earned close to $1.3 million for three seasons of racing. Fantastic
Shirl wasn't quite as successful as Shakespeare, but the chestnut miss did score
in the 2007 De La Rose S. as well as earn placings in the Jenny Wiley S. (G2)
and Noble Damsel H. (G3). Lady Shirl's most recent foal is an unnamed yearling
filly by Perfect Soul.
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Lady Shakespeare's extended family is also rich in black-type, including
champion Numbered Account, Group 1 hero Boucher (*Ribot), Grade 3 winner Mona
Rose (Gold Legend) and Grade 2 scorer Current Blade (Little Current).
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