After her connections gave her all the time she needed to develop as a racehorse, Speak English has made them happy with their decision, as the four-year-old mare has won three of her five pari-mutuel starts and has yet to miss the board.
Speak English didn’t get to the races until last March, but she has certainly made up for lost time by winning three of the last four California Sire Stakes races for pacing fillies that have been contested.
Fast forward to this Friday at Cal Expo, where the first stakes contest of 2016 for the division will take place, and Speak English figures to have plenty of support. The Power Of Art homebred carries the banner of Frank Nevarez, and trainer Tim Clevenger does the conditioning and pilot Luke Plano the steering.
Speak English showed she was a force to be reckoned with right off the bat last year when she made a victorious 15-1 debut in a March 15 sire stakes event. She ended up with two more added-money tallies before the Cal Expo meet came to an end in the spring.
She was rested up following the meet and had a solid return to the races last week over a ‘good’ track. She checked in second to Mistup Magic in a conditioned affair that could prove to be the perfect prep for Friday’s return to the stakes action.
“She actually qualified in June of 2014 and again here (at Cal Expo) in December of that year, but came with a virus and we didn’t want to rush her,” her trainer of record from last year, Gordie Graham, explained.
“To be honest, I was surprised she was such a big price in her debut, because we knew she had plenty of talent. She came her back half in :55.3 that night, which is awfully impressive, especially for a first-time starter.”
Graham related that Speak English’s only loss in her four stakes attempts last season was likely due to a cough she had earlier that week, and she returned to crush those same rivals two weeks later in the last big-money race for the division at that meeting.
A pair of California Sire Stakes for four-year-olds, headed by Speak English and Sandys Song, and on Open Trot that will feature Northern Stormont are the main attractions on a special Friday card at Cal Expo.
First post for 12-race program is 6:15 p.m. This week will find the trotters and pacers in action on Friday and Saturday, with no live racing on Super Bowl Sunday.
There will be an $11,355 Hi-Five carryover on Race 10. The Hi-Five is a 20-cent minimum wager and will feature a $30,000-guaranteed gross pool.
(With files from Cal Expo)