Speak Easy Returns With Saratoga Allowance Victory
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Photo: Coglianese Photos/Angelo Lieto
Speak Easy wins an allowance race at Saratoga Race Course
The last time Speak Easy approached a starting gate for a race, it turned out to be a nightmare.
Siena Farm and WinStar Farm's impressive maiden winner was about to run in the March 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream Park when he jumped the rail and suffered a 12-inch laceration of his stomach.
"He almost gelded himself," said Elliott Walden, CEO, president, and racing manager of WinStar Farm, which bred the son of Constitution .
Nearly five months later, Speak Easy returned to the racetrack for trainer Todd Pletcher and once again faced some trouble. Yet after what he survived in the Fountain of Youth, trying to close from fifth in a six-furlong sprint was a cinch for the talented 3-year-old colt.
Rallying strongly in the stretch, Speak Easy showed no ill effects from his Fountain of Youth mishap as he remained undefeated by surging to a 2 1/4-length victory in a $110,000 allowance race against older horses July 27 at Saratoga Race Course.
"I'm pleased with the effort. He faced some adversity and I'm glad he overcame it," Walden said. "We didn't expect him to be on the lead at six furlongs, he's more of a miler type, but I like the fact he took dirt, learned a lot, and came to the wire in hand."
In his Jan. 27 debut at Gulfstream Park, Speak Easy pressed a :44.61 pace and then edged away to score by 1 3/4 lengths while covering seven furlongs in 1:21.96 and earning a triple-digit Beyer Speed Figure.
In Saturday's race, Speak Easy ($3.50) was fifth in the field of nine after a half-mile in :46.43 a little more than four lengths off the lead, then swung widest under Irad Ortiz Jr. into the stretch and quickly entered contention. The 3-4 favorite moved to within a half-length of front-running Mariachi and then quickly moved past to score easily in 1:11.17 for the six furlongs.
Walden said a stakes would be next for Speak Easy and the seven-furlong H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes (G1) awaits Aug. 24 at the Spa. Though with WinStar and Siena owning two other Jerkens candidates in World Record and Timberlake , opting for a next spot is hardly a no-brainer for the son of the Harlan's Holiday mare Fun .
"He's 2-for-2 and we're relieved that he won today. We'll see how the number comes back. He deserves to run somewhere in a big race," Walden said.