Trainer Jonathan Sheppard said Monday that Ever So Lucky is slated to ship to Gulfstream Park by the end of this week.
The prominent 3-year-old Triple Crown prospect has been training in
Camden, S.C. following an extremely promising fall campaign at Churchill
Downs. Ever So Lucky debuted on Nov. 11 with an eye-catching 3 ¼
-length score at 6 ½ furlongs and came back only two weeks later to
finish a solid second behind Gemologist in the Kentucky Jockey Club
(G2).
The son of Indian Charlie, whom Augustin Stable’s George Strawbridge
purchased at the Fasig-Tipton Mid-Atlantic 2-year-olds-in-training sale
last May, experienced a minor setback following the Kentucky Jockey
Club.
“He had a little bit of heat in an ankle. Nothing showed in the x-rays,
so they said it was nothing but possibly a little bruising at the base
of the cannon bone. It’s quite common in young horses,” Sheppard said.
“It’s something that if you keep pushing on with, it could turn into a
chip or a crack, so you have to be careful.”
Ever So Lucky was scheduled for a workout in Camden Monday, but frost
in a portion of the racing surface prompted Sheppard to call an audible.
“We decided to do a compromise and do a strong gallop. The track never
got the way I’d hoped it would,” said Sheppard, who will likely “do a
little more” within the next day or two before shipping his colt to
Gulfstream.
The Hall of Fame trainer “is taking a peak at the Hutcheson Stakes” at
Gulfstream on Feb. 11 as a possible kickoff to Ever So Lucky’s
3-year-old campaign.
“We have the luxury of having happened to have a two-turn race, so we
don’t have to rush right into a two-turn race off the layoff. So that
should work out well,” Sheppard said.