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Flower Point arrives in time in $150K Forever Together

by David Blicksilver

Steve Feiger’s homebred Flower Point captured Friday’s 5th running of the $150,000 Forever Together, a 1 1/16 mile inner turf test for fillies and mares 3-years old and upward, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey, the 5-year-old Point of Entry mare entered from a closing third in the one-mile Grade 3 Noble Damsel on October 23 at Belmont Park.

Breaking from post 4 under Jose Lezcano, Flower Point took back at the start of the race and sat three wide as the field of five raced past the wire for the first time. Mucha Mezquina and Sailingintothewind dueled for the lead while gaining separation from the rest of the field through opening fractions of 23:61 seconds and 47:82 down the backside over good going.

Lezcano had Flower Point sitting in third as the field entered the final turn where she was passed by a fast moving Giacosa, who came four wide under Luis Saez. After six furlongs in 1:12.04, Giacosa took the lead and started to draw away, but Flower Point then made her own four-wide move and needed every inch of ground to get her neck ahead of Giacosa, covering the distance in 1:42.28.

“She broke well and I put her in behind horses,” said Lezcano, “When the three horse [Giacosa] came with a run I tried to go with her, but she didn’t want to go yet. I grabbed her back again and when I tipped her out around the quarter pole, she came with a good run.”

Lezcano said Flower Point, who has won 3-of-7 starts this campaign, has improved with added ground.

“She can be hard to ride but I think she’s improving. She’s been running short and now she’s stretching out where she should be better,” Lezcano said.

Saez said he was pleased with the effort from the New York-bred Giacosa, who captured the Yaddo against fellow state-breds in August at Saratoga Race Course.

“She made a nice move and looked like a winner, but that other filly came running. She battled with her, but couldn’t get there,” Saez said.

Rounding out the order of finish was Sailingintothewind, Mucha Mezquina and Speaktomeofsummer. Platinum Paynter was scratched.

Bred in Kentucky by her owner, Flower Point is out of the Lewis Michael mare Fab Flowers. Flower Point returned $3.30 for a $2 win bet. She increased her career earnings to $319,562 and now sports a 16-5-0-3 record.

Live racing resumes Saturday at the Big A with a 10-race card featuring the $100,000 Central Park in Race 7, the $150,000 Discovery in Race 8, the Grade 3, $400,000 Long Island in Race 9 and the $150,000 Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship in Race 10. First post is 11:50 a.m. Eastern. 

America’s Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Aqueduct Racetrack on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Aqueduct Racetrack, and the best way to bet every race of the fall meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.