Lady Shipman Stands Tall in Highlander

Lady Shipman will face six males in the $200,000 Highlander Stakes (Can-IIT) July 3 at Woodbine, but don’t expect the 4-year-old filly to feel intimidated. She towers over the field in this six-furlong grass event.

Ranlo Investments' Lady Shipman fell a neck short of Mongolian Saturday in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (gr. IT) against the boys, and owns stakes wins at Gulfstream Park, Belmont Park, and Pimlico Race Course this season against females.

She runs close to the pace and finishes, having won 11 of 16 lifetime starts and finishing worse than third just once, that coming in Dubai. In addition, she gets a weight break of three to seven pounds in this field. She will deservedly be the heavy favorite.

Something Extra didn’t fare nearly as well in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, finishing 13^th of 14, but he returned this season to miss by a half length to Undrafted in the Shakertown (gr. IIT), a race he won in 2015. He is a speedy sort who has three victories at Woodbine and has a puncher’s chance here.

Passion for Action won the Vigil (Can-III) two races back on the Woodbine Polytrack and returned to miss by a half length in the Connaught Cup (Can-IIT). He also scored in the Jacque Cartier over the Poly and is in top form now.

Hootenanny won the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (gr. IT) but hasn’t made much noise since and needs to regain his juvenile form. Green Mask hasn’t won since 2014 even though he tends to run well. He finished immediately behind Lady Shipman in the Breeders’ Cup, but a trip to Hong Kong didn’t go to expectations and his last two efforts, in the Opening Verse and Jaipur (gr. IIIT), he failed to quicken the heart.

Black Hornet won the 2015 Vigil Stakes (Can-III) but then didn’t re-appear until this year’s Vigil, in which he was beaten nine lengths by Passion for Action. A return in the Achievement Stakes in mid-June did not yield the hoped-for result. Sweet Grass Creek was second in the Achievement but he’s done his best work in allowance company and needs to step up his game here.