Darby Dan Farm’s first-year stallion Shirl’s Speight, a Grade 1 winner by Speightstown out of Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1) winner Perfect Shirl, will be shuttling to Chile for the Southern Hemisphere breeding season, it was announced today. In a deal brokered by Sullivan Bloodstock, Shirl’s Speight will stand the Southern Hemisphere season at Haras Sumaya, owned by Oussama Aboughazale.
“Haras Sumaya is one of the most prominent breeding operations in Chile,” said Stuart Fitzgibbon, Darby Dan Farm’s stallion director. “Haras Sumaya has enjoyed remarkable international success, including through its U.S.-based racing division. The deal between Darby Dan Farm and Haras Sumaya marks the beginning of a promising long-term relationship facilitated by Sullivan Bloodstock.
“Shirl’s Speight boasts a truly international pedigree,” Fitzgbibbon added. “He was noted for his high turn of foot; he was tough, durable, and sound throughout his racing career, and is an outstanding physical specimen.”
A homebred for Charles Fipke trained by Roger Attfield, Shirl’s Speight was a globetrotter during his racing career. The versatile and accomplished racehorse thrived on all three surfaces. He scored his biggest win in the 2022 Maker’s Mark Mile (G1) at Keeneland—earning a career-high 104 Beyer Speed Figure. He ranked among the top milers that year when also second by three-quarters of a length to champion Modern Games (GB) in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1), finishing ahead of eight Grade 1 winners. He banked $1,497,245, competing all over the world, including Grade 1 races in Japan (on dirt), Dubai, Canada, and the U.S.
Shirl’s Speight is by the late Speightstown, a champion sprinter, and one of the most prolific and versatile sires of the last decade. His sons at stud include the likes of Munnings, and Grade 1 winners Charlatan, Olympiad, and Prince of Monaco. Shirl’s Speight is out of Perfect Shirl, winner of the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1) for Fipke and Attfield, and an earner of more than $1.3 million during her exceptional racing career.
For more information on Shirl’s Speight, contact Stuart Fitzgibbon at (859) 621-6763, or by email at Stuart@darbydan.com, or visit www.darbydan.com.
