Lady Shipman a go for Dubai after facile comeback win

Leading turf sprinter Lady Shipman returned to her winning ways Saturday at Gulfstream Park, comfortably scoring in the $75,000 Ladies Turf Sprint over five furlongs.

Headed early by Jewel of a Cat through a soft opening quarter of :23.22, Lady Shipman forged clear under Irad Ortiz Jr. approaching the quarter pole and drew off late to win in a time of :58.14 on firm ground. Katie's Kiss finished second, one length ahead of Jewel of a Cat.

An overwhelming favorite against seven rivals, Lady Shipman paid $2.40.

This was the first start for Lady Shipman since joining the Kiaran McLaughlin barn. Previously trained by Kathleen O'Connell, the four-year-old Midshipman filly had a stellar sophomore campaign winning six stakes along the East Coast and missing by a neck in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1) at Keeneland. She garnered 41 first-place votes as an Eclipse Award finalist for champion female sprinter.

Owned by Ranlo Investments, Lady Shipman now possesses a record of 13-9-2-2, $583,905. She will likely be pointed toward the $1 million Al Quoz Sprint (G1) at Meydan, on the Dubai World Cup (G1) undercard, March 26.

Also on Saturday, Todd Pletcher runners ran one-two in the $100,000 Fred W. Hooper (G3) for older horses at one mile. Tommy Macho, the 7-2 third choice, made a four-wide bid around the turn, passed stablemate Stanford in upper stretch and cruised late to win by 3 3/4 lengths under Luis Saez in a time of 1:33.53 over a fast track. Stanford was six lengths clear of Grande Shores in second.

Owned by Paul Pompa and J Stables, Tommy Macho paid $9.