Point of Honor turned out before ‘major’ 4-year-old campaign

While her top division counterparts battled Saturday in Parx Racing’s Cotillion Stakes (G1), Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Stetson Racing’s 3-year-old filly Point of Honor, who most recently finished runner-up in both the Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) and Alabama Stakes (G1), is enjoying some downtime.

Eclipse President Aron Wellman said the daughter of Curlin is at Margaux Farm in central Kentucky. She won’t race again this season while receiving a “well-deserved window of time for ‘R&R.'”

“She is perfectly fine physically, but she had a hard, successful campaign and we wanted to freshen her for what we envision being a major 4-year-old campaign,” Wellman said told Horse Racing Nation contributor Jeffrey Byrnes.

Point of Honor was a debut winner at Gulfstream in her lone start as a juvenile, and then came right back to win the Suncoast Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs in her sophomore bow. Trained by George Weaver, Point of Honor then ran fourth in the Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) before scoring her biggest career win in the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (G2).

In the Alabama, Point of Honor made a strong bid entering the stretch but proved to be no match for winner Dunbar Road in the slop but beat Street Band, who rallied to win Saturday’s Cotillion. In the Coaching Club American Oaks, Point of Honor rallied to be a strong second behind Guarana, the Cotillion runner-up.

Wellman said Point of Honor will be sent from Margaux Farm to Weaver’s base at Palm Beach Downs “sometime before the end of the year” to prepare for next season.