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Amazing
Philly is a yearling who was born in January of 2000 in Pennsylvania.
She is by Speak Compelling, who is a granddaughter of Seattle
Slew. But, what makes Amazing Philly so unique is the fact that
no one knows who the filly's sire is.
Speak Compelling
is a three year old claiming filly owned by Lynda and Bill Gallagher.
The couple bought the filly from an auction in California, with
no idea that they'd indeed bought two horses.
Speak Compelling
continued her two year old training, under Don Reeder, at Philadelphia
Park. The filly had been off form since they'd bought her, but
no one had any notion that she was pregnant.
On a January
night in 2000, Speak Compelling gave birth to a filly. The next
morning, Speak Compelling's groom happened across the stall
and found two figures, one of which he thought was "a goat".
It turned out to be a little Thoroughbred filly, only fifty-five
pounds, half the weight of a normal foal. Speak Compelling had
not been receiving the rations that it takes for a broodmare
to produce a healthy foal, and Amazing Philly was severely underweight.
Don Reeder knew that the filly needed help, and fast.
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After the
Gallagher's were notified, Mr. Reeder shipped Speak Compelling
and Amazing Philly to Justaplain Farm in Chester County. Justaplain
Farm specializes in orphan foals, and after four days together,
Speak Compelling returned to the track, and Amazing Philly stayed
at Justaplain Farm.
Exhaustive
research in trying to find the filly's father has been conducted,
but a fork in the road provided problems, since Speak Compelling
had been in three different locations at the time that Amazing
Philly could have been conceived.
The Gallagher's
have decided to stop spending money and time trying to solve
the mystery. Amazing Philly has been deemed one hundred percent
Thoroughbred, and received her racing permit, but will not be
able to breed under the Jockey Club regulations.
Amazing
Philly is currently at Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland,
where horses such as Da Hoss, winner of the Breeder's Cup Turf,
have been trained. She will return to Justaplain Farm in early
December.
What will
happen to this filly when she begins her racing career in 2002?
Could this filly with such a peculiar background possibly be
a champion in the making? Stand by, and we'll find out.
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