Point of Entry established himself as one of the favorites for the Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. I) when he absolutely dominated eight rivals in the $600,000 Sword Dancer Invitational Stakes (gr. I) on Saturday at Belmont Park, drawing away with powerful strides to win the twelve-furlong turf race by four impressive lengths.
Ridden to victory by John Velazquez, Point of Entry was content to settle into third early on as Turbo Compressor and Center Divider led the way through moderate fractions of :24.89 and :49.45. Brilliant Speed, Newsdad, and Tahoe Lake were also racing in mid-pack, while Al Khali, Hailstone, and Game Ball were the early trailers.
Turbo Compressor and Center Divider continued to lead the way down the backstretch and around the final turn, setting fractions of 1:13.77, 1:37.90, and 2:02.13 to enter the final quarter mile still in command of the race. However, they were soon confronted by Point of Entry, who switched to the outside after saving ground throughout the race and set his sights on the front runners. With a burst of speed, he left the front-runners behind and finished up with a sub-:24-second final quarter mile to win the race in decisive fashion, drawing off under a hand ride to complete the race in the good time of 2:26.40.
Al Khali put in a good run to finish second best, but was never a threat to the winner. Brilliant Speed and Newsdad rounded out the superfecta, while Tahoe Lake, Hailstone, Center Divider, Game Ball, and Turbo Compressor completed the order of finish.
The winner is owned by Phipps Stable and is trained by Shug McGaughey. A son of Dynaformer, Point of Entry has now won four straight races, and six of thirteen overall. His earnings now stand at $934,490.
-Keelerman
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