Drain the Clock Runs Up the Score in Swale Stakes

Time ran out on the five 3-year-olds trying to catch Drain the Clock in the $100,000 Claiborne Farm Swale Stakes (G3) Jan. 30 at Gulfstream Park.

The son of Maclean's Music  dominated the seven-furlong sprint, rolling by 6 1/4 lengths over King's Ovation and leaving Ultimate Badger, Likeable, Poppy's Pride, and By George even farther behind. Away alertly, he briefly ceded the lead to Poppy's Pride, took over effortlessly midway on the turn, and proved superior.

Following splits of :22.48, :45.27, and 1:10.27, Drain the Clock completed seven furlongs in 1:23.29 while under a late hand ride. He paid $4.20 as the favorite.

"I'm very impressed. He's just improving every race," said jockey Edgard Zayas. "He is such an easy horse to ride. He breaks out of the gate just like a rocket, positions himself in a perfect spot, and when it's time to run, he kicks on really good. Really nice horse."

King's Ovation, steadied when rallying between horses leaving the turn, closed from fifth to grab second, three lengths ahead of third-place Ultimate Badger, another late runner. Likeable, Poppy's Pride, and By George completed the order of finish.

The victory in the Swale was the fourth in five starts for Drain the Clock, whose only loss came in November at Delta Downs when jockey Heriberto Figueroa was unseated in the Jean Lafitte Stakes after one of the rider's irons broke as the field raced down the backstretch.

The Swale was the second stakes victory for Drain the Clock following a 7 1/2-length score in the Jan. 2 Limehouse Stakes at Gulfstream, after which Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables, and Michael Nentwig joined Slam Dunk Racing in ownership. Previously, he had raced entirely for Slam Dunk, whose managing partner, Nick Cosato, bred the colt in Florida.

"He made it easy today, but 12 days ago he colicked really bad and went to the clinic. Thank God, he got there, and he was good," trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said. "To see him win like that today—he's a good horse. We had to make the call after he breezed on Tuesday. There was no pressure to run. He worked good Tuesday and didn't give us any reason to say 'No.'"

Drain the Clock is the first stakes winner for the Arch mare Manki, though one of her other two-winning foals, Amazing Audrey, is a $225,408 earner. Drain the Colt has earned $152,550.

The mare produced a Mineshaft  colt last year.

Maclean's Music, standing at Hill 'n' Dale Farms for $25,000, is also the sire of Jackie's Warrior, a dual grade 1 winner around one turn last year at 2.

Though all of Drain the Clock's success has come sprinting around one turn, from five furlongs to a mile, Zayas thinks the colt might be capable of running longer. 

"I think if he keeps improving, hopefully he can stretch out his speed a little bit more," Zayas said.

Numerous races will be considered for the colt's next start, including the 1 1/16-mile Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth (G2) Feb. 27 at Gulfstream, Joseph said.

"We'll talk to the owners, obviously, but there's no pressure to push that route. If everything goes good, I'm sure we'll try it," Joseph said. "He looks like he'll get further."