X Y Jet has no problem with ship to Dubai

Trainer Jorge Navarro runs a large string in Florida, but he has been in Dubai now for close to two weeks, having arrived two days before X Y Jet, the horse he starts Saturday in the Golden Shaheen. It’s a significant time commitment, and Navarro hopes it pays off Saturday night.

“This is a horse you got to work on, his attitude, and the way he does things,” Navarro said. “It was his first shipping and you know what? Wow. I was amazed. He was in his feed tub an hour after getting here. Everyone told me, 'Jorge don’t take him to the track the first day,’ but the next day I took him to the track.”

X Y Jet won’t have any fast workouts in Dubai; Navarro said he raced the horse Feb. 27 in the Gulfstream Park Sprint in lieu of a series of breezes. X Y Jet stumbled at the start in that race – though he still won comfortably – the third time he’s stumbled or bobbled leaving the gate. Navarro said he had to give X Y Jet a break through late spring and early summer after X Y Jet badly grabbed his quarter stumbling in the Swale Stakes last March.

With that in mind, X Y Jet visited the starting gate for the second time since he arrived here following a spirited gallop Tuesday. The gate stalls in Dubai are tighter than those in the U.S., and Navarro hopes the closer quarters will actually help X Y Jet by giving him less room to shift around before the gate opens.

“That’s my biggest concern – the break,” Navarro said.

What doesn’t concern Navarro are the local rules prohibiting race-day medication, like Lasix, which has been administered to X Y Jet before all 14 of his starts.

“That was one of the reasons to come to Dubai. He’s a 4-year-old and he’s never bled on me,” said Navarro. “The no Lasix, every American trainer thinks about that, but it’s not a concern for me.”