Lady Shipman should be tough in Crank It Up

Lady Shipman, a two-time stakes winner this season, will be difficult to deny in Saturday’s $60,000 Crank It Up Stakes at Monmouth Park.

Trained by Kathleen O’Connell, Lady Shipman cuts back to 5 1/2 furlongs in the turf sprint for 3-year-old fillies after fading in deep stretch of the seven-furlong Wait a While at Belmont Park on May 16. Prior to that, she had won four straight by wide margins, including the five-furlong Stormy Blues at Pimlico and the six-furlong OBS Sprint on the synthetic surface at the Ocala Training Center.

Harlan’s Honor was third to Lady Shipman in the Stormy Blues while making her first start since November and could be tighter for her second start this season. She won the five-furlong Colleen at Monmouth last season.

Shimmering Cara beat 13 rivals in a maiden race at Laurel Park last fall. It turned into a key race when four fillies returned to win their next starts. This marks Shimmering Cara’s first start in eight months, and her trainer, Terri Pompay, isn’t noted for winning with sprinters returning from such long layoffs, with a 1-for-24 record over the past five years.

Quaver responded to the addition of Lasix to rally from 8 1/2 lengths back and draw clear by two lengths in a six-furlong maiden race a month ago at Belmont. The slightly shorter distance of the Crank It Up will not work in her favor.

War Alert was a two-time winner sprinting on turf in Europe last season but didn’t run well when the Juvenile Turf Sprint at Santa Anita was moved to the main track. She makes her first start for trainer Graham Motion, who is just 1 for his last 20 with turf sprinters returning from an absence of more than 180 days.