Belmont Park: Point of Entry tunes up for Joe Hirsch

ELMONT, N.Y. - Point of Entry tuned up for Saturday’s Grade 1, $600,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, with a sharp half-mile workout in 50.22 seconds Sunday morning over a good Belmont inner turf course.

After going off slowly, Point of Entry zipped home a final quarter in 22.50 as a another horse not connected with his stable had broken off about a dozen lengths in front.

“I like that he had a little bit of a target,” trainer Shug McGaughey said. “I thought it was an excellent work . . . . He had that horse in his sights. I told [exercise rider Jen Patterson] I wanted something fairly sharp with him, but I didn’t want to overdo it. She let him go off the right way and finish up the right way.”

Point of Entry has won four in a row, including the Man o’ War and Sword Dancer – both Grade 1’s – to put him among the leaders in the male turf division.

In the Joe Hirsch, Point of Entry is expected to face Finnegans Wake, Game Ball, Hailstone, Little Mike, and Treasure Beach.