OZONE PARK, N.Y. - It was a differently run race than last month’s Jockey Club Oaks Invitational, but it was the same result as Eternal Hope outfinished Neecie Marie to win Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Sands Point Stakes at soggy Aqueduct. The margin of victory Saturday was a half-length. Last month, it was a neck. In the Grade 3 Jockey Club Oaks, a 1 3/8-mile race in which there was a runaway speed horse, Eternal Hope had to rally from last and widest of all under Jamie Spencer to run down Neecie Marie, who had gotten through on the inside. On Saturday, in the Sands Point, Eternal Hope broke better, sat closer to a more realistic and modest pace under Spencer and hooked up with Neecie Marie with 4 1/2 furlongs remaining, the two sitting about five lengths behind pacesetting Leave No Trace. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Approaching the top of the stretch, Neecie Marie, under Abner Adorno, appeared to get the jump on Eternal Hope, but Eternal Hope had more to give and outfought Neecie Marie to the wire over a yielding turf course. “She was very brave from the half-mile pole because I was lacking a little bit of speed and getting pressure from the outside,” Spencer said. “In the straight I always knew I was gonna win … she was always going to keep going and that’s what she did in the end. Her stamina came into play and her class.” Eternal Hope helped Godolphin and trainer Charlie Appleby salvage a frustrating fall meeting here given the fact Rebel’s Romance finished a well-beaten fourth in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic and his half-brother, Measured Time, was rained out when the Jockey Club Derby was forced off the turf. “She’s got a big heart, she fights, she knows her business,” said Sophie Chretien, an assistant to Appleby who has been here for about three weeks with these horses. “At some stage, I was scared of the filly coming from the outside, but she responded and beat her at the post.” Eternal Hope, a daughter of Teofilo owned and bred by Godolphin Racing, covered the 1 1/8 miles over yielding turf in 1:53.36 and returned $5 as the favorite. Trainer Butch Reid said Saturday’s result was a flashback to the Jockey Club Oaks, but he was glad to see his filly run another solid race, this time over soft ground, which she had never previously encountered. “At least we know she can handle that, too,” Reid said. “A very good race and a good ride by the jock I thought. For her sake, I’d like to get one of these. I’m sure we will. She’s a young horse. She’s got a big future ahead of her.” Neecie Marie finished 1 3/4 lengths ahead of Highland Grace, who rallied from last to finish a clear third over Alpha Bella. Root Cause, Quarrel, Be Your Best and Leave No Trace completed the order of finish. Soviet Excess and Stephanie’s Charm scratched. Scotish Star takes Floral Park After watching numerous clods of soft turf come up in the Sands Point, the New York Racing Association made a late-decision to move the Floral Park Stakes from the turf to the dirt. The six-furlong race scratched down to a field of four, with heavily favored Scotish Star, under Kendrick Carmouche, outfinishing the maiden Risk Free to win the $116,250 Floral Park by 1 1/2 lengths. Risk Free, now 0 for 19 with 10 seconds, finished 8 1/4 lengths clear of Salvaje. Shoshanah was last. Bubble Rock, Itsakeyper, Poppy Flower, and Can’t Buy Love all scratched. The main-track-only horses Bank on Anna and Royal Poppy also scratched, as NYRA had been intent on running this on the turf. Scotish Star, who hadn’t won on dirt since 2020 when she raced in Argentina, sat behind the dueling duo of Shoshanah and Salvaje, tipped widest of all in the lane and outfinished Risk Free. Scotish Star, a  6-year-old Argentine-bred daughter of Key Deputy owned by La Providencia and LNJ Foxwoods and trained by Todd Pletcher, covered the six furlongs in the slop in 1:11.29 and returned $2.60 to win. “I had some horse underneath me, but you could see on her [form] she don’t like to win as much,” Carmouche said. “You could feel her, once she got there, she kind of idled a little, but she was the best horse.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.