She Makes a Point aims to do just that in allowance

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – There is a mixture of winter-raced horses and layoff runners in the featured seventh race on the first Friday card of the Woodbine meet. She Makes a Point should be favored in the 1 1/16-mile allowance for fillies and mares with a $114,600 purse and a $32,000 claiming option.

She Makes a Point, who’s in for the tag, was an astute $25,000 claim here in November by trainer Norm McKnight for owner Bruno Schickedanz. She started three times on dirt during the winter at Oaklawn and finished in the money in all of those lucrative first-level allowance routes.

She Makes a Point set an honest pace before getting caught at the wire when returning from a two-month break Feb. 28. Five weeks later, she earned her second straight 79 Beyer Speed Figure when a prominent third behind two next-out winners.

The 7-year-old broke through in a gutsy display April 26. After getting away slowly, she got hung out four wide entering the first turn before advancing to the lead after a half-mile. She turned back two challengers in deep stretch to prevail by a nose with an 81 Beyer, the second highest of her career.

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Sofia Vives has the mount on She Makes a Point, who is competing on short rest off that last taxing performance and could regress. Going back five years, McKnight has won at a solid 20 percent rate when going from dirt to synthetic, with a return on investment of $1.69.

Aspen Dawn is the other winter-raced entrant in the seven-horse field. The expensive daughter of Quality Road posted mixed results in her first seven races, all on turf, before ending up third in a nine-furlong allowance over Gulfstream’s Tapeta on Feb. 20. She was never in contention most recently when seventh on the grass at Keeneland.

Last year’s top jockey, Sahin Civaci, will ride Aspen Dawn for trainer Mark Casse. They are a combined 4 for 13 at the meet. Casse also is sending out Swinging Mandy, who tailed off late in the fall on the Tapeta after a fruitful campaign on the grass.

War Painter should be a factor under Fraser Aebly, who was aboard when she took the Ashbridge Bay Stakes for Ontario-sired 3-year-old fillies on Nov. 17. A month later, she ran well against older Ontario-sired females in the La Prevoyante Stakes, finishing third behind the future Canadian champion Fashionably Fab. Trainer Kevin Attard has won at a 22 percent clip with 61- to 180-day layoff types over the past five years, with an ROI of $1.99.

Saccharine finished in the money in two stakes last year, including the Breeders’, while still a maiden. She beat two next-out winners when graduating over 1 1/8 miles on the Tapeta on Nov. 17, after which she wintered in Florida with trainer Rachel Halden.

Completing the race 7 lineup are Voice From Above and Flying Black. Post time for race 1 is 1:05 p.m.

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