Wondrwherecraigis Bound for Dubai Golden Shaheen

After a few weeks of wondering where he would run next, trainer Brittany Russell announced Laurel Park-based grade 3 winner Wondrwherecraigis  will travel halfway around the world for his next start later this month.

Russell said Michael Dubb, The Elkstone Group, Madaket Stables and Bethlehem Stables' Wondrwherecraigis is scheduled to leave on a March 14 flight from Miami to Dubai to run in the $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1) March 26 at Meydan.

Winner of the Jan. 29 Fire Plug Stakes at Laurel in his lone start this year, Wondrwherecraigis worked a half-mile in :48.60 March 10 at Pimlico Race Course and left the next day for his stopover in South Florida.

Wondrwherecragis was nominated to the Feb. 19 General George Stakes (G3) at Laurel and the March 5 Tom Fool Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct Racetrack before the connections settled on the Golden Shaheen, contested at 1,200 meters or about six furlongs.

"Obviously it's a good purse and it seems like they take really good care of you in the sense of shipping the horse and taking care of the connections," Russell said. "It's been a little bit of a back and forth. The majority of the partnership, they've been thinking Dubai. It was just sort of left up to the group.

"If you look around at where we are at this time of year and what we're going to do with him, it kind of seemed like, 'You know what? Let's go take a swing,'" she added.

Wondrwherecraigis will take a two-race win streak into the Golden Shaheen. His popular 3 3/4-length triumph in the six-furlong Fire Plug was his first race since Oct. 31 when he captured the seven-furlong Bold Ruler Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct, the first graded-stakes victory for horse and trainer.

"He's doing really well," Russell said. "Since the Fire Plug he's trained well, and now it's just about getting him over there and hoping he travels well, which I expect he will."

Among those invited to the Golden Shaheen are grade 1 winners Drain the Clock , based at Gulfstream Park, and California-based Dr. Schivel . Other horses on the final list of 10 include Japanese group 3 winner Copano Kicking, fifth in last year's Golden Shaheen, and Dubai-based multiple group 3 winner Al Tariq .

"You're going to Dubai, so of course you're going to catch some monsters. We don't want to be 20-1 but, on the other hand, we're not going to be the favorite," Russell said. "We're going over there with a horse who thinks he's on top of the world right now. Hopefully he's still thinking that when he leaves there."