Lady Shipman (Midshipman), off since finishing a narrowly beaten second in the Oct. 31 GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, is expected to make her return to the races in the Feb. 6 Ladies Turf Sprint at Gulfstream Park. Previously trained by Kathleen O'Connell, the 'TDN Rising Star' will be making her first start for trainer Kiaran McLaughlin. She tuned up for her 2016 debut with a half-mile breeze at Palm Meadows in :48.45 Jan. 21.
“Kathleen O'Connell obviously did a great job with her,” McLaughlin said. “We just hope we do as good a job as she did. I don't normally like to take horses from people. The owner asked us to take her in hopes of going to Dubai. It's not like Kathleen did anything wrong. She did great with this filly.”
McLaughlin continued, “We'll have another work and hopefully she'll be ready to go. She's doing really well. She was training in Ocala, so she doesn't need a lot. She stays pretty fit and does everything right. She's a real kind filly to be around.”
Looking ahead to a possible tilt at the Mar. 28 G1 Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan, McLaughlin added, “It would be against the boys, like the Breeders' Cup, but she's proven she can do that. She's a very talented filly.”
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