Mshawish, Lady Shipman headed to Dubai

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Two horses coming off big performances Saturday at Gulfstream Park, Donn Handicap winner Mshawish and Lady Shipman, who cruised to victory as the odds-on favorite in the Ladies’ Turf Sprint, will be heading to Dubai for their next starts, while it appears that Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap winner Lukes Alley will not.

Mshawish already has experience racing in Dubai, having finished third a year ago in the Dubai Turf. He became a Grade 1 winner on both dirt and turf after pulling away to a two-length victory over Valid in the Donn. Mshawish won the Gulfstream Park Turf here last year.

“We’re definitely inclined to go that way,” trainer Todd Pletcher said when asked if the World Cup would be next for Mshawish. “It’s one of those situations where we’ll keep him eligible for the turf race, even the dirt mile, but after speaking to all the connections, everybody is pretty much on board with giving the World Cup a go if everything points in that direction as we train for it.”

Pletcher said he also was pleased with Itsaknockout’s performance in defeat in the Donn. Itsaknockout finished fourth behind Mshawish while earning a career-best 102 Beyer Speed Figure.

“I thought [Itsaknockout] ran a sneaky-good race,” Pletcher said. “Unfortunately, he got a trip that left him outside a good portion of the way, and the fractions were a tick soft for a horse like him. We’ll just let the dust settle and keep all our options open with him right now.”

Lady Shipman won like a 1-5 shot should when drawing away to a one-sided triumph in the Ladies’ Turf Sprint, her first start since her second-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint and since being transferred to trainer Kiaran McLaughlin’s barn this winter.

“She came out of the race excellent,” McLaughlin said. “She was impressive. Anytime you’re 1-5, you’re expected to win, but she won very well, and we’re happy with her performance. Now, we’ll just point for Dubai. She’ll do her training here and then ship over on March 15.”

Meanwhile, trainer Josie Carroll said a trip to Dubai is not likely for Gulfstream Park Handicap winner Lukes Alley, who wore down the pacesetter Shining Copper in the final strides to become a Grade 1 winner Saturday.

“He came out of the race tired but in good order,” Carroll said. “I don’t think Dubai is really in the cards for this horse. He’s just starting to peak, and I want to stay here, keep him on track, and not do a lot of shipping.”

Carroll said Ami’s Flatter also came back well following his fourth-place finish as the 6-5 favorite in the Grade 3 Fred W. Hooper, won by Pletcher’s Tommy Macho.

“I was disappointed right after the race, but after talking to my rider [John Velazquez] and watching the replay, I didn’t feel so bad,” Carroll said. “He’s done a lot of racing on Poly and hasn’t had to run into dirt a lot. When he ran up inside, it took the horse by surprise getting hit with all that stuff, and he backed up out of there very fast but came back running once he got outside in the clear, and I was happy to see that.”

◗ Jockey Luis Saez continued his big meet Sunday, winning four races on a card for the second time this winter. Saez has chased Javier Castellano atop the standings throughout the session and will enter Wednesday’s card with 49 victories for the meet, just seven behind three-time defending champion Castellano.