Shang made his first start since crossing the wire third in the Iowa Derby last July, scoring an easy win in an off-turf Louisiana-bred allowance race Friday at Fair Grounds. Shang ($3.40) had just three foes after a slew of scratches because of the surface switch, and he made a clear lead while controlling the pace, Ricardo Santana Jr. riding for trainer Steve Asmussen, but this still was an encouraging performance. The half-mile split over a sloppy track was 47.99 seconds, an honest clip for a Fair Grounds two-turn race, and Shang got a challenge on the far turn from the decent horse Mageez. Shang turned him back by upper stretch, easily saw off Underpressure (who won the Louisiana Champions Day Classic in 2018) and chugged home about 5 3/4 lengths best despite declining to change leads. Not saying Shang is a top-level open performer, but he might well be the best older Louisiana-bred in training during 2020.