Little Mike and Point of Entry to lock horns in the Joe Hirsch
The Grade 1, $600,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational Stakes is a “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf on 3 November, 2012, at Santa Anita Park, and the protagonists are two turf experts, Point of Entry and Little Mike.
Phipps Stable’s owned 4-year-old colt, Point of Entry is coming off on the back of a 10 week vacation, but he will be looking to continue from where he left off.
"It was by design," McGaughey said of the layoff for the Phipps Stable homebred. "I knew when the Man o' War was, and I knew when the Sword Dancer was, and I knew when the Joe Hirsch was, and I figured if we get through that, I know when the Breeders' Cup is. He seems to be doing as well as ever; he had a good work Sunday, and I was really pleased, so we're just crossing our fingers and hoping everything's fine going up to the race."
Trained by Claude R. McGaughey III, Point of Entry is coming off a four-race win streak, and he started off with a win in 1 ½ mile allowance race at Keeneland, and then went on to bag his first graded stakes victory, when he bagged the Grade 2 Elkhorn Stakes over 1 ½ mile at Keeneland’s turf course.
The highlight of Point of Entry’s career was when he grabbed the Grade 1 Man O’ War Stakes at Belmont Park going 1 3/8 miles on 14 July, and then went on to grab his first Saratoga win by landing the Grade 1 Sword Dancer Invitational this August.
The Joe Hirsch has drawn a small field of six, and Point of Entry will be sent as the 4 to 5 morning line favourite, and will break from post 2 under John Velazquez.
The son of Dynaformer must clear his biggest hurdle before the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, and that hurdle is the 2 to 1 second choice for the Joe Hirsch, Little Mike.
Little Mike has been doing it right, with 11 victories out of 19 starts, the Dale Romans trained 5-year-old gelding is currently exiting victory in the Grade 1 Arlington Million. He will break from post 4 under Ramon Dominguez.
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