The Grade 1 Woody Stephens Stakes at Belmont Park was a slugfest between sons of Hill 'n' Dale Farms' Maclean's Music on Saturday, with Drain the Clock getting the best of favorite Jackie's Warrior in the deep stretch.
Drain the Clock grabbed the lead out of the gate, and set a hot pace through the first furlong of the backstretch before being joined by Jackie's Warrior on the inside. Jackie's Warrior wrestled the lead away from Drain the Clock as they passed the opening quarter in :22.09 seconds.
Jackie's Warrior was in the driver's seat heading into the turn in the seven-furlong race, with Drain the Clock on his outside hip. Jockey Joel Rosario drifted Jackie's Warrior wide as they hit the crux of the turn, and floated Drain the Clock out with him.
The opening half-mile went by in a blistering :44.19 seconds, and the pair were several paths wide entering the home stretch. Behind them, Dream Shake had a clear path on the rail and Nova Rags was advancing through a wide trip, but neither would contend with the two leaders.
Jackie's Warrior continued to keep Drain the Clock at bay after three-quarters of a mile in 1:08.88, at which point jockey Jose Ortiz, who picked up the mount in place of his injured brother Irad, started asking Drain the Clock in earnest. Drain the Clock drew even with a game Jackie's Warrior inside the final furlong, and he carried on to win by a neck. Nova Rags was 7 1/4 lengths behind the runner-up.
Drain the Clock completed the seven-furlong race in 1:22.27 over a good main track. He paid $17 to win as the field's fourth choice.
With the Woody Stephens victory, Drain the Clock improved his lifetime record to six wins in eight starts for earnings of $539,550. Saturday's race was the latest rung in what has been a steady climbing of the ladder for the colt in 2021, starting with a 7 1/2-length drubbing of the black type Limehouse Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 2. He carried on to win the G3 Swale Stakes by 6 1/4 lengths, then stretched out to two turns to finish second in the G2 Fountain of Youth Stakes. He headed into the Woody Stephens off a return to one-turn racing in the G3 Bay Shore Stakes, which he won in a front-running trip.
Drain the Clock is trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., for owners Slam Dunk Racing, Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables, and Michael Nentwig. He was bred in Kentucky by Nick Cosato, out of the Arch mare Manki.
To view the Equibase chart, click here.
G1 Woody Stephens Quotes, Courtesy of the NYRA Notes Team
Saffie Joseph, Jr., winning trainer of Drain the Clock (No. 2, $17): “We talked it over so much with [co-owner] Nick Cosato [of Slam Dunk Racing] and he wanted to break well and use him for the lead. We just left it up to Jose [Ortiz]. We told him the break was important and to make Rosario [aboard Jackie's Warrior, No. 3] make a decision. If they're going to let you lead, lead.
“Obviously, Jackie's Warrior missed the break and after that he ran up on the inside and we were in a good spot. If we were good enough then we were going to win. At the quarter pole, I thought we were going to be second. It looked like he was backing up a little bit. He dug in after that, and then Jackie's Warrior wouldn't give up. All credit to the horse.”
On taking a departure from the Triple Crown trail: “This is the benefit of making a tough decision because he got 20 points [for the Kentucky Derby] and he could have picked up more. Would he have won? Probably not. That's stretching him. After that, it was just cut back. We figured let's have a good horse at one turn.”
On a potential start in the Grade 2, $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial on August 28 at Saratoga: “That's the plan.”
Jose Ortiz, winning jockey aboard Drain the Clock (No. 2): “If [Joel] Rosario [on Jackie's Warrior] wanted the lead, I'd rather have him rush inside of me. It was my game plan to break better, outrun him out of the gate in the first couple jumps and go as far out as I could, as long as I was clear. I wasn't planning to mess with anybody; you can see as soon as Rosario came back in, I came back in. I didn't want him outside of me putting pressure on me the whole way.”
On the stretch-duel between Drain the Clock and Jackie's Warrior: “It was great. It's great for racing. That's what it's all about, people want to come here to see those kinds of duels. It was a great race, everybody gave their best. I'm just happy we came out with the win and I'm happy filling in for Irad [Ortiz] and not messing it up. He told me the horse was very classy, Saffie was great, and the owner was great, too. The owner was the one that told me if you can outrun him out of the gate and make him go inside, that would be great, to have him inside of us.”
Joel Rosario, jockey aboard runner-up Jackie's Warrior (No. 3): “He just kind of stumbled a little bit coming out of the gate and missed the break. Then he went and did his best, but I think the break out of the gate was the key. He still ran his race.”
Junior Alvarado, jockey aboard third-place finisher Nova Rags (No. 1): “The track is still playing a little bit to the fast side, which will benefit horses on the lead. My horse broke good and I let him settle and make a run. He was there for me. He was trying for me at the end.”
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