Juvenile Hard Strike Earns Debut Score at Ellis Park

This column highlights the performances of maidens who have made no more than five starts and who either sold for more than $500,000 at public auction, have siblings that are grade/group winners, or have dams that are grade/group winners. BloodHorse research shows maiden winners in particular who meet these criteria are more likely to go on to be graded stakes winners.

Ellis Park

In a week that brought a plethora of notable maiden winners, only one was a 2-year-old. Racing for Walking L Thoroughbreds and trainer Kenny McPeek, Hard Strike made a successful debut July 4 at Ellis Park.

Race 4 at Ellis was featured as a BloodHorse Races to Watch event when The Right Stuff was still entered, but the Wesley Ward-trainee was among the morning scratches the day of the race.

Hard Strike contested the one-mile turf test under jockey Corey Lanerie in his first effort, sitting well off the pace in seventh as easy fractions of :24.80 and :49.93 were set by Cross of Galilee through a half-mile. He began to pick off horses and was fifth as six furlongs went in 1:15.23. Coming into the stretch, Hard Strike had Cross of Galilee and Brew Pub to catch, but he closed quickly to win by 2 1/4 lengths over Brew Pub.

A $75,000 purchase by McPeek from Perrone Sales' consignment The July Sale, Fasig-Tipton's select yearling sale in Kentucky, the Hard Spun  colt is the fourth foal out of the Kentucky-bred, Brazilian group 2 winner May Be Now, who also produced Argentinian dual group 1 winner Ivar. Hard Strike was bred in Kentucky by Mr. & Mrs. Wm S. Moriarty Apache Farm.

Woodbine

At Woodbine the same day, Shirl's Speight made a winning debut taking a seven furlong turf race by eight lengths for trainer Roger Attfield and owner-breeder Charles Fipke.

The Speightstown  colt beat a field of nine others, stopping the clock in 1:19.97 while leading at every point of call under jockey Rafael Hernandez. The time was just shy of the track record set by Silent Poet when he finished seven furlongs in 1:19.22 in August.

Shirl's Speight totes a weighty pedigree as he is the fourth foal and second winner out of the 2011 Emirates Airline Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T) winner Perfect Shirl, a half sister to grade 1 winner and sire Shakespeare and grade 2 winner Lady Shakespeare.

The following day at the Ontario track, the 3-year-old filly Afleet Katherine also won on debut, albeit not by the same type of margin. The Terra Farms homebred daughter of Afleet Alex  won by a neck for trainer Kevin Attard.

She is a half sister to last year's Bessarabian Stakes (G2) winner Amalfi Coast.

Belmont

Juddmonte Farms' homebred Publication finished third in her debut for trainer Chad Brown when she was sent out in a one-mile test at Gulfstream Park in early April. The well-bred filly, who was a bit keen in that first effort, returned Saturday under Javier Castellano to take a seven-furlong maiden test on the grass at Belmont Park.

Well back early on, she closed in the stretch to score by two lengths in a final time of 1:22.77 on firm turf.

The 3-year-old Tapit  filly is the first foal out of the four-time grade 1-placed Mizzen Mast  mare Filimbi, daughter of 2001 Kentucky Oaks (G1) and Alabama Stakes (G1) winner Flute. Filimbi's only graded score came in the 2014 Goldikova Stakes (G2T). She also has a 2-year-old colt named Realm of Law, by War Front .

Brown also had a 3-year-old filly win July 3 at Monmouth Park for Klaravich Stables, when Duopoly led throughout a 1 1/16-mile turf test and opened up in the stretch to post a five-length win under Nik Juarez.

The Animal Kingdom filly had finished seventh in a May 17 debut at Churchill Downs at the same distance.

Bred in Kentucky by Jamm Limited, Duopoly is the third foal and second winner out of the grade 3-winning Danehill Dancer mare Justaroundmidnight.