Point of Entry,
who won a 1½-mile allowance race on the Keeneland turf course on April
12, proved his liking for the distance and the surface when he won the
27th running of the $150,000 Elkhorn (G2) before a crowd of
17,383 on Friday, closing day of Keeneland’s 15-day spring meet. The
victory marked the first stakes win for the 4-year-old colt by
Dynaformer, a homebred racing for Phipps Stable.
Ridden by John Velazquez, who won the Elkhorn the past two years with Musketier (GER),
Point of Entry was the 5-1 fourth choice in the race and broke from
post two in the field of eight 4-year-olds and older runners. Newsdad,
the 11-10 favorite, took the lead out of the starting gate and led the
field through early fractions of :25.18, :50.29 and 1:16.14 while Simmard, Point of Entry and Musketier – making his fourth consecutive start in the Elkhorn - raced within striking distance.
The
pace quickened as the horses reached the midway point of the
backstretch. Turning for home, Simmard took the lead from Newsdad as
Point of Entry mounted his challenge with a four-wide move. Inside the
eighth pole, Point of Entry assumed command while Tahoe Lake (BRZ)
angled to the inside and took over second place. Point of Entry crossed
the finish 1½ lengths in front of Tahoe Lake, mirroring the finish from
the April 12 allowance, in a time of 2:29.45.
Simmard
finished three-quarters of a length behind in third and was 1¾ lengths
in front of Musketier, his stablemate. Completing the order of finish
were Newsdad, Wilkinson and Suntracer. Center Divider unseated jockey Robby Albarado at the start. Skipshot was scratched.
For
the victory, Point of Entry paid $13.20, $7.60 and $5. Tahoe Lake,
ridden by Manny Cruz, returned $11.40 and $5.40. Simmard, ridden by
Javier Castellano, paid $4 to show.
Point
of Entry earned $90,000 for the Elkhorn victory to push his career
earnings to $214,490 with four wins in 11 starts. The colt is trained by
Shug McGaughey, who also won the Elkhorn in 2008 with the Phipps
Stable’s Dancing Forever and in 1994 with Claiborne Farm’s Lure.
According to Trakus, Point of Entry covered the least amount of ground in winning the Elkhorn.
Keeneland’s fall meet opens on Friday, October 5. The 17-day season runs through Saturday, October 27.