Zippit E seeks sixth straight victory in Lane's End-Danny Shifflett
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – Zippit E has not lost in more than a year and will attempt to keep her streak alive Saturday night in the $50,000 Lane’s End-Danny Shifflett Scholarship Stakes at Lone Star Park.
Zippit E will seek her sixth consecutive win; she faces 10 others in the 7 1/2-furlong turf race for Texas-bred fillies and mares. Others set to start include My Master Plan, a three-time stakes winner making her turf debut, and Gold Shock, the winner of a division of the Texas Stallion Stakes last month at Lone Star.
Saturday night’s race was renamed this year in honor of longtime Lane’s End Texas farm manager Danny Shifflett and complements the annual awards banquet being put on trackside by the Texas Thoroughbred Association.
KEY CONTENDERS
Zippit E, by My Golden Song
Last 3 Beyers: 74-72-71
◗ Zippit E is moving back to two turns off consecutive sprint-stakes wins to start her year: the $50,000 Yellow Rose in March at Sam Houston and the $50,000 Wayne Hanks Memorial on April 23 at Lone Star.
“We look forward to getting her back around two turns,” said Bret Calhoun, who trains Zippit E for her breeders, Wayne Sanders and Larry Hirsch. “She’s better going long. She’s been very good, very consistent for us, and we’re pretty optimistic about her.”
◗ Zippit E launched her streak last June at Lone Star in a maiden special weight at a mile, winning by 20 lengths in her fourth start. She then won back-to-back turf allowances at two turns at Lone Star in July.
“As a young horse, she was immature, couldn’t sprint,” Calhoun said. “We finally got her stretched out, and she ran huge. Now that she’s gotten older, she can sprint, but we definitely think she’s better at two turns.”
◗ Richard Eramia, who won five of the seven races Wednesday at Louisiana Downs, has the mount from post 2.
Gold Shock, by My Golden Song
Last 3 Beyers: 65-55-54
◗ She became a stakes winner in the one-mile division of the Texas Stallion on May 27 after placing in four stakes earlier in her career. Gold Shock is making her turf debut.
“She’s been a hard-knocking filly, a little bit unfortunate not to win a couple of those spots early on,” Calhoun said. “Sometimes [progeny of sire My Golden Song] move up on the turf. She’s proven she can handle the two turns, and we’ve got an inkling the grass might move her forward a little bit.”
◗ My Golden Song gets 20 percent debut turf winners, according to statistics from Daily Racing Form.
