Imperial Hint back on work tab, eyes Golden Shaheen

OLDSMAR, Fla. – Imperial Hint, the standout sprinter who was second to Roy H in the Nov. 4 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar in his last start at 4, returned to the work tab Saturday, breezing a half-mile in a bullet 47.40 seconds over a fast Tampa Bay Downs track.

Trainer Luis Carvajal Jr. said the 5-year-old Florida-bred horse is a possible starter in the March 31 Dubai Golden Shaheen.

“We have received an invitation and are considering it,” he said. “I’d say it’s 50-50.”

Otherwise, the Grade 2 Churchill Downs on the May 5 Kentucky Derby undercard will be the target, Carvajal said, with one prep race beforehand. “He is a pretty light horse and it doesn’t take much to get him fit,” he said.

Imperial Hint has earned triple-digit Beyers his last six starts, including a 109 in his last two.

Two stakes at Tampa on Saturday

Two six-furlong stakes are on tap here for Saturday, and the Tampa racing office was expecting to get another horse eyeing the Golden Shaheen: X Y Jet, whose trainer, Jorge Navarro, said he intends to send the 6-year-old gelding across the peninsula from his Miami-area base for the $100,000 Pelican.

The filly-mare counterpart to the Pelican, the $50,000 Minaret, also will be run here Saturday. Entries were to be taken Wednesday.