Ready for the Lady, under Emma-Jayne Wilson, roared home to take Sunday’s Grade 3 $154,200 Singspiel Stakes, run over 1 3/8 miles on Woodbine’s E.P. Taylor Turf Course.
Collective Force broke sharply and was sent to the lead early in the Singspiel, followed by even-money choice King Vega (GB) and Elusive Knight, while Ready for the Lady, 14-1 on the toteboard, was last of six.
A 4-year-old son of Tiznow, Collective Force was 1 ½ lengths on top through a quarter in :26.72. A headstrong King Vega (GB) was second to the outside while Elusive Knight was a head back in third.
Still on top by 1 ½ after a half in :52.27, Collective Force braced for a bid by King Vega (GB), while Ready for the Lady wasn’t quite ready to join the pacesetters, remaining in sixth spot.
As the field worked their way off the final turn, King Vega (GB) took over the lead, but was immediately confronted by British Royalty to the outside in early stretch, as Collective Force dug in along the rail, while Wilson and Ready for the Lady still had plenty of work to do.
With the wire drawing ever closer, Ready for the Lady finally hit his best stride late, wearing down his rivals with a strong turn of foot to notch a three-quarter length triumph in a time of 2:18.12 over good going. British Royalty was second, Collective Force third and King Vega (GB) fourth.
“He just keeps coming,” said Wilson. “I was confident that he’d suit the distance and very optimistic about the ground – it had some cut to it – but he traveled over it nicely. I had to motivate him quite early and build and build, but I’ll tell you, when we straightened, he had dead aim on them and he was just flying. I was impressed.”
It was the first stakes win and second victory from eight starts for the Charles Fipke homebred. The 3-year-old colt arrived at the Singspiel off a maiden-breaking effort on July 23.
Fipke, who watched his Shirl’s Speight finish a troubled fourth in Saturday’s Grade 1 $1 million Ricoh Woodbine Mile, was elated with today’s outcome.
“I have to say it was a brilliant ride. She did such a wonderful job. Roger did a wonderful job of training too.”
For Attfield, who won five straight editions of the race, from 2009-13, it was his ninth career Singspiel title.
Focus, he noted, has been a big key in the Kentucky-bred’s turnaround.
“Actually, he was a horse that he was so studdish last year, he just didn’t have any desire. I knew there was ability there, but he wasn’t putting it out. All of the sudden he started to do better better and put his mind to it a little bit more and allowed me to train him a little bit harder. This was kind of an interesting experiment almost because I wasn’t going in this race originally. I knew that a mile and three-eights was probably a better race for him than the allowance race. When I heard it that it rained here, I thought that would help him too.”
Ready for the Lady paid $30.60, $11.30 and $6.10, and topped a $120.70 exactor with British Royalty ($3.60, $2.90). The triactor with Collective Force ($4.10) returned $393.90. King Vega (GB) completed a $1 superfecta worth $317.
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