Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Point of Honor could parlay Suncoast win to Oaks berth
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Like most everyone else, George Weaver would rather be lucky than good. If not for the fickleness of South Florida weather, nobody would yet know how good Point of Honor is on the dirt – and Weaver surely wouldn’t be one race from having a live contender for the Kentucky Oaks.
“Luck plays a big part in a lot of things we do in this game,” Weaver said Monday, less than 48 hours after Point of Honor became an Oaks consideration by dominating the Suncoast Stakes on Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs.
“I’m sure we would’ve eventually tried her on dirt, but I seriously doubt we’d be in this situation if the filly had started out on the grass.”
Point of Honor, a Curlin filly owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Stetson Racing LLC, won her career debut in the last race of the Dec. 16 card at Gulfstream Park. As fate would have it, the race was taken off the turf because of weather, and Point of Honor responded with a six-length romp in a depleted field of six.
Weaver then sent her from his Palm Beach Downs winter base across the Florida peninsula for the one mile and 40-yard Suncoast, which offered 10 qualifying points to the winner toward the May 3 Kentucky Oaks. The filly was even more impressive this time, winning by 2 3/4 lengths and earning an 82 Beyer Speed Figure under Javier Castellano.
“She’d never really flashed her hand in the mornings,” Weaver said. “She never broke any stopwatches or did anything freaky. But she always showed potential, and now obviously we’re happy with the position we’re in.”
Weaver said Point of Honor will have to earn her way into the Oaks with just one more prep, either the March 23 Fair Grounds Oaks or March 30 Gulfstream Oaks.
“There’s just not enough time to squeeze two more races in her,” he said.
Weaver, 48, may have another reason to return to his Louisville, Ky., birthplace on the first weekend of May, as he also has a serious prospect for the Kentucky Derby in Vekoma, who closed at 41-1 in Pool 2 of the Derby Future Wager offered last weekend by Churchill Downs.
Vekoma, owned by R.A. Hill Stable and Gatsas Stable, is being pointed to the March 2 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream after having a short break following a 1 3/4-length victory (and 97 Beyer) in the Nov. 4 Nashua. The Candy Ride colt worked five furlongs Sunday in 1:02.40 at Palm Beach Downs, marking his fourth breeze on the comeback trail.
“He’s a May foal, and he was just a little tucked up after the Nashua,” he said. “When you’re looking to run in the Derby, you don’t really want to run them once a month. We’re just hoping to have him right at the right time.
“I’m very happy with the horse and the way he’s come along. He’s really filled out and is a lot stronger. Hopefully the way we’ve played this works out.”
Weaver said the Tampa Bay Derby or Gotham, both on March 9, are backup races in case Vekoma isn’t quite ready for the Fountain of Youth, “but right now we’re looking real good” for the Gulfstream race.
Kimmel has hot weekend
Nobody held a hotter hand last weekend at Gulfstream than trainer John Kimmel, who sent out a trio of winners from four starters, all going a mile on turf: Mega Fortune ($85.80) and Jerome Avenue ($40.20), both in maiden-special races, and Miss Munnings ($9) in a first-level allowance.
“It’s a good thing, because we were getting kind of parched over here,” Kimmel said with a laugh. “It’s kind of been like the weather in California – drought or flood.”
Kimmel said he will consider waiting on a Keeneland race in April for both maiden winners “because of the huge purses,” while Miss Munnings is a possibility for the Sand Springs on the March 30 Florida Derby undercard.
Miss Munnings ran a mile in 1:34.65. Now a two-time winner here this winter, Miss Munnings “has always been a trier,” Kimmel said.
“But she’s had some bone bruising that’s kept her from her best,” he said. “She’s really come back with a vengeance this time. She went in racehorse time and still had something left. It was really good to see.”
Kimmel said that Pacific Gale, second in the Grade 3 Hurricane Bertie on the Jan. 26 Pegasus undercard, will make her next start here March 16 in the Grade 2 Inside Information at seven furlongs. Also, Mr. Buff, a winner of four straight, all at Aqueduct, will go next in the Grade 2 New Orleans Handicap on the March 23 Louisiana Derby undercard at Fair Grounds.