Freshman sire Speightstown (Gone West-Silken Cat, by Storm Cat) was represented by his first winner May 15 at York in England.
Lord Shanakill, a $110,000 Keeneland September yearling sales graduate, was sent off at 13-2 odds in a six-furlong event over turf labeled good-to-firm. Despite the heavy favorite Awinnersgame looming a threat, Lord Shanakill powered away in the final furlong and won by a 2 3/4-length margin for trainer Karl R. Burke and owner Mark Gittins.
Bred in Kentucky by Vimal Khosla, Gillian Khosla, and Templeton Stud, the colt was produced by the unraced Theatrical mare Green Room, a half-sister to grade I stakes winner Spanish Fern, and to the dam of grade I Santa Anita Handicap winner Heatseeker (Giant's Causeway-Rusty Back, by Defensive Play).
Speightstown stands as a Taylor Made Farm/WinStar Farm venture at Bill Casner and Kenny Troutt's WinStar Farm near Versailles, Ky. His 2008 fee was $40,000.
His record is 2-1-0-1, for earnings of 8,605 pounds.