Old combination of Attfield and Fipke seeking another upset in Dubai

With their easy familiarity, Roger Attfield and Charles Fipke might be mistaken for a couple of old friends off for a spot of fishing or golf rather than a hot pursuit of Saturday’s Dubai Turf.

There is at least a century’s worth of racing experience between the pair with Attfield, the 83-year-old trainer who has spent more of his life on the other side of the Atlantic to his native England, even responsible for having a runner in this same race when it was known as the Dubai Duty Free, at the very first World Cup meeting back in 1996. 

The Hall of Fame member is a fine foil for Canadian owner-breeder Fipke and together they have built virtually every aspect of Shirl’s Speight’s pedigree. Although the six-year-old is likely to be discounted in the betting against smart representatives from across the globe, his running-on second behind Modern Games in last November’s Breeders’ Cup Mile suggests he would be dangerous to overlook.