Ever So Lucky set to arrive in Florida

Trainer Jonathan Sheppard said Monday that Ever So Lucky is slated to ship to

Gulfstream Park by the end of this week. The prominent three-year-old Triple

Crown prospect has been training in Camden, South Carolina, following an

extremely promising fall campaign at Churchill Downs. Ever So Lucky debuted on

November 11 with an eye-catching 3 1/4-length score at 6 1/2 furlongs and came

back only two weeks later to finish a solid second behind Gemologist in the

Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes.

The son of Indian Charlie, whom Augustin Stable's George Strawbridge

purchased at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic two-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 (Grade 2) Hutcheson Stakes"

at Gulfstream on February 11 as a possible kickoff to Ever So Lucky's

three-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.