Mile distance should suit Flower Point in Plenty of Grace Stakes
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - A pair of solid efforts going a mile or farther - including a victory in the Forever Together Stakes here last November - made Saturday’s $100,000 Plenty of Grace Stakes at Aqueduct a logical target for Flower Point to make her seasonal debut.
Flower Point, a 6-year-old daughter of Point of Entry trained by Shug McGaughey for owner/breeder Steve Feiger, was one of just six females entered in the Point of Entry going a mile on the inner turf course. One of those six, Halo City, was entered to run only on the main track. The Plenty of Grace was carded as the fourth race.
The field is led by Technical Analysis, a two-time graded stakes winner at Saratoga last summer who finished second to stablemate Shantisara in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge at Keeneland last fall.
Flower Point had mixed success sprinting both in California and early in her time in New York. She seemed to improve last fall in longer races. Though she finished third in the Grade 3 Nobel Damsel at a mile, Flower Point steadied back to last early and then again on the turn. She was beaten just two lengths.
“I think my instructions weren’t that good to [Jose] Lezcano and it kind of got messed up,” McGaughey said.
In the Forever Together, Flower Point rallied from fourth to nip Giacosa on the wire by a neck. McGaughey took her to South Florida for the winter but had no plans to run her at Gulfstream Park.
The field, from the rail out, is Alms (Javier Castellano), Giacosa (Trevor McCarthy), Plum Ali (Manny Franco) Halo City (Jorge Vargas Jr.), Flower Point (Lezcano) and Technical Analysis (Dylan Davis).
Saratoga backstretch opens Friday
Horses will be permitted on the backstretch of Saratoga beginning Friday with the first day of training over the Oklahoma training track scheduled for Saturday.
There will be no training on Easter Sunday at either Saratoga or Belmont Park.
Opening day of the 40-day Saratoga meet is July 14.