Wise Dan, Point of Entry lock horns under Twin Spires

Last updated: 5/1/13 6:56 PM

Horse of the Year Wise Dan has won five straight on the grass

(Keeneland/Coady Photography)

An epic battle looms on the horizon at Churchill Downs on Saturday, but not
necessarily in the Kentucky Derby. One race before the Run for the Roses, Horse
of the Year Wise Dan and long-distance turf star Point of Entry will have a
long-awaited first meeting in the Grade 1, $500,000

Woodford Reserve Turf Classic over 1 1/8 miles.

Both Wise Dan and Point of Entry were stars of the division in 2012, but took
divergent paths en route to last November’s Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita. Wise
Dan excelled in mile events and naturally aimed for the corresponding Breeders’
Cup event at that distance, while Point of Entry established himself as a 1
1/2-mile specialist and ran in the Turf. Both had solid claims to championship
honors entering Breeders’ Cup Day, but Wise Dan’s victory in the Mile and Point
of Entry’s loss to Little Mike in the Turf tilted Eclipse Award voters in the
direction of Wise Dan, who was also named champion older male and Horse of the
Year.

Wise Dan enters the Turf Classic off five straight wins and eight victories
in his past nine starts, the lone setback a head beat in the Stephen Foster
Handicap on Churchill’s main track last June. He kicked off his national title
defense in the April 12 Maker’s 46 Mile at Keeneland, fending off the talented
Data Link by a length on a day trainer Charlie LoPresti admitted the
six-year-old gelding wasn’t at peak fitness. Wise Dan has won three of his past
four attempts going 1 1/8 miles, and his one-for-one over the Churchill lawn
having taken the 2011 Firecracker Handicap in his turf debut.

Point of Entry was a monster last season in marathon events, taking the
Elkhorn, Man o’ War, Sword Dancer and Joe Hirsch Turf Classic in succession, but
is expected to be a more prominent figure in several shorter events this year.
The Dynaformer horse, whose main summertime goal is the 1 1/4-mile Arlington
Million, successfully shortened up to nine furlongs in the February 9 Gulfstream
Park Turf Handicap, rallying to defeat champion Animal Kingdom by 1 1/4 lengths.
That rival came back to win the Dubai World Cup at Meydan in late March.

Point of Entry showed versatility beating Animal Kingdom in the nine-furlong Gulfstream Park Turf

(Joe Ganley/EquiSport Photos)

John Velazquez, who rode both horses for most of their respective 2012
campaigns, has opted to retain the mount on Point of Entry. Jose Lezcano, who
successfully substituted for Velazquez on Wise Dan in two of the gelding’s past
three starts, will ride the Horse of the Year.

The speed of the Turf Classic will come from Silver Max, whose five-stakes
win streak last year included the American Turf at Churchill and the Virginia
Derby, and the D. Wayne Lukas-trained Optimizer, a proven performer on soft
ground, which might be the prevailing condition of the grass course with rain in
the forecast on Saturday.

Also looking to pull a surprise are Jeranimo, whose captured the San Gabriel
and Shoemaker Mile over the past year; Slim Shadey, a two-time winner of the
10-furlong San Marcos at Santa Anita; and Swift Warrior, a dual Grade 3 winner
already this year. Longshots Middie and Bim Bam complete the field.

Marketing Mix, who missed by less than a length in the Breeders’ Cup Filly &
Mare Turf last fall, returns to action in the Grade 2, $250,000

Churchill Distaff Turf Mile. The Medaglia d’Oro mare won twice in Canada and
in the Rodeo Drive at Santa Anita last season, and also missed narrowly in the
Beverly D. in addition to her tough beat to eventual champion Zagora in the
Breeders’ Cup.

Also in this outstanding edition of the Distaff Turf Mile are Grade 1 winners
Daisy Devine and Hungry Island, both of whom contested the 2012 edition
contested on a rain-softened turf. Daisy Devine saw a four-race win streak
snapped that day, tiring to fifth behind Hungry Island, who won by a length on a
course condition she typically thrives on. Marketing Mix also ran that day and
finished fourth.

Hungry Island will defend her Churchill Distaff Turf Mile crown against 2012 foes Daisy Devine and Marketing Mix

(Melissa Wirth/Horsephotos.com)

Both Daisy Devine and Hungry Island completed at the recently-concluded
Keeneland meet in Lexington. Daisy Devine built up a big lead in her title
defense of the 1 1/16-mile Jenny Wiley, but settled for second after being run
down late by Centre Court. Hungry Island, meanwhile, returned from a winter
spell to take an April 7 allowance by a length.

Stephanie’s Kitten chose a difficult spot to make her season debut, but is
not without talent. One of the top sophomore grass fillies in the nation last
term, the Grade 1 heroine is two-for-two on the Matt Winn turf having captured
the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and last season’s Edgewood on
Kentucky Oaks Day.

Others of note are 2012 Ashland winner Karlovy Vary, who finished second to
Hungry Island in that Keeneland allowance last month, and the Todd
Pletcher-trained duo of Suwannee River winner Channel Lady and sprint specialist
Stopshoppingmaria.

The first of the three grass stakes on Saturday’s card, the $125,000

Twin Spires Turf Sprint at five furlongs, pits two prior Breeders’ Cup Turf
Sprint winners, Regally Ready and Chamberlain Bridge, and Grade 2 veteran
Havelock, who recently captured the 5 1/2-furlong Shakertown at Keeneland. Also
in with a chance is Ikon Ike, a stakes winner at Fair Grounds and Sam Houston in
his last two starts.

Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com