Saffie Joseph Jr. | Horse Racing Free Tips

Second Chances: Everesting

In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar.

Everesting (c, 3, Frosted–If Not For Her, by Not For Love) stamped himself as one to watch following a better-than-it-looked fifth-place finish on debut behind 'TDN Rising Star' Annex (Constitution) going two turns over the Gulfstream lawn Jan. 16 (video).

The gray's worktab included a pair of bullets at trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr.'s Palm Meadows base, led by a four-furlong breeze in :47 (1/74) Jan. 9.

Off at odds of 12-1, he hopped at the start after exiting from post nine and was bumped by a rival one to his inside. Edgard Zayas got him over and secured a two-wide journey around the clubhouse turn. Sixth without cover and ready to roll through a half-mile in :47.30, Everesting began to launch with a flashy, three/four-wide blitz on the far turn and led his nine rivals as they cornered for home. He began to get leg weary in the stretch, however, and ran out of gas in the final furlong to finish fifth, beaten 3 1/4 lengths.

The impressive, come-from-behind winner Annex stopped the timer for the one-mile distance in 1:34.93 and earned an 81 Beyer Speed Figure. Everesting was assigned a respectable 74.

Bred in Kentucky by Three Chimneys Farm, Everesting RNA'd for $170,000 as a Keeneland September yearling and later brought $110,000 from Cash is King, LC Racing and John Fanelli after breezing an eighth in :10 2/5 out of the Cary Frommer consignment at last year's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale.

Everesting's page is one that Cash is King's frontman Chuck Zacney is certainly familiar with.

Hailing from the first crop of Frosted, he is the first foal out of the three-time winner and stakes-placed mare If Not For Her. The 10-year-old is a half-sister to MSW & MGSP Awesome Flower (Flower Alley), GSP First Mondays (Curlin) and a full-sister to the winning dam of MSW & GSP Monday Morning QB (Imagining).

Like Everesting, the 2018 GIII Smarty Jones S. third-place finisher First Mondays and last November's GIII Discovery S. runner-up Monday Morning QB have also carried the green-and-white colors of Cash is King.

Everesting's third dam produced blowout 2009 G1 Dubai World Cup hero Well Armed (Tiznow).

“I thought he ran a really good race,” Zacney said. “It was a quick time. It certainly was a sweeping move and I think he's going to get a whole lot out of it. Our intent was probably for a dirt race, but unfortunately one was not quite there yet, so we decided to try the turf. Saffie made the comment that he was breaking a little slow from the gate [in the morning], so he thought the turf race would help him a little bit more. We were quite pleased with the effort. It's certainly going to help him going forward.”

Anything in mind yet for Everesting's next start?

“Nah, we'll figure that out still,” Zacney said. “He's going to work a week from this Saturday on the 30th, and we'll go from there. I think the intent probably will be a mile or a mile and a sixteenth on the dirt. We'll have Saffie tell us what's best for him.”

Previous standouts featured in 'Second Chances' include: GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby winner Honor A. P. (Honor Code), GII Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint winner and Royal Ascot G2 Norfolk S. runner-up Golden Pal (Uncle Mo), MGISW and 'TDN Rising Star' Paradise Woods (Union Rags), GII Los Alamitos Futurity winner and MGISP Spielberg (Union Rags), GSW Backyard Heaven (Tizway), and MSW and 'TDN Rising Star' Gidu (Ire) (Frankel {GB}).

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Drain The Clock Rebounds With 7 1/2-Length Limehouse Stakes Score

Slam Dunk Racing's Drain the Clock made a triumphant return to Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., Saturday, putting an unfortunate trip out of town behind him with a dazzling 7 ½-length victory in the $75,000 Limehouse Stakes.

The Limehouse, a six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds, was one of five stakes on Saturday's 11-race program that was headlined by the $100,000 Mucho Macho Man, a mile stakes for 3-year-olds that was the first stop on the Road to the Florida Derby (G1).

Drain the Clock registered the first stakes victory of his career that he launched with back-to-back victories at Gulfstream before making an unfortunate trip to Delta Downs for the Jean Lafitte Stakes, in which the rider was unseated due to a broken iron.

“It was really impressive. He impressed me today,” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said. “He was always highly thought of. He was impressive in his debut. His second win was more workmanlike than impressive. Last time, it was a bit of a mishap. We got him back today and he showed up.”

Drain the Clock, the 9-5 favorite, was rated just off the pace set by Warrior's Pride, who posted fractions of 21.78 and 44.83 seconds while showing the way for the first half-mile. Edgard Zayas sent Drain the Clock after the pacesetter on the turn into the homestretch, and the son of Maclean's Music produced a powerful kick to pull away from the field.

“It was a pretty smooth trip. He broke sharp out of the gate. My only worry was that he was moving a little bit in the gate, but everything worked out really well,” Zayas said. “I was just trying to keep him in the clear and he did it all.”

Drain the Clock ran six furlongs in 1:10.11. Tiger finished second under Luis Saez, 1 ¾ lengths ahead of Runway Magic and jockey Julien Leparoux.

Competitive Speed Gives Trainer 1st U.S. Stakes Win in Glitter Woman
John Minchello's Competitive Speed scored a 9-1 upset in Saturday's $75,000 Glitter Woman at Gulfstream Park, providing trainer Javier Gonzalez his first stakes success in the U. S.

“It's my first stakes here. We started the year on the right step. It seems to me that we will have some good things happen this year,” said Gonzalez, who has saddled multiple graded-stakes winners in Puerto Rico.

Hit the Woah, the 3-5 favorite ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., broke poorly from the starting gate and was never a factor while finishing fourth.

Competitive Speed ($20) collected her third straight victory with an off-the-pace performance in the 6 ½-furlong sprint for 3-year-old fillies. Shop Girl broke alertly, unlike her stablemate in the Christophe Clement barn, to show the way along the backstretch and around the far turn while setting fractions of 22.49 and 45.49 seconds for the first half mile. Competitive Speed launched a three-wide drive on the far turn under Leonel Reyes and set her sights on the pacesetter on the turn into the stretch. The daughter of Competitive Edge overtook Shop Girl approaching the 1/8-pole to capture her stakes debut by three lengths, completing the 6 ½ furlongs in 1:17.08.

Shop Girl, ridden by Luis Saez, finished second, 6 ½ lengths ahead of Gone to Cabo.

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Maclean’s Music’s Drain the Clock Bounces Back in Limehouse

Looking to atone for his first career defeat when he suffered an equipment malfunction in the Jean Lafitte S. at Delta Downs Nov. 30, Slam Dunk Racing’s Drain the Clock (Maclean’s Music) made light work of his rivals as the 9-5 chalk in Saturday’s Limehouse S. at Gulfstream Park.

Smoothly away beneath Edgard Zayas, the chestnut stalked a fast pace outside of front-running Warrior’s Pride (Poseidon’s Warrior), eased to the front approaching the stretch and kicked home smartly to defeat the blinkered Tiger by a handy margin. Runway Magic (Runhappy) finished third.

“It was a pretty smooth trip,” said the winning rider. “He broke sharp out of the gate. My only worry was that he was moving a little bit in the gate, but everything worked out really well. I was just trying to keep him in the clear and he did it all.”

Drain the Clock, a six-length maiden winner in the local slop on debut Sept. 12, added a one-length allowance tally at Gulfstream West Oct. 28 ahead of his Delta debacle, where an iron broke and he lost his jockey.

Drain the Clock is the 21st stakes winner for his Hill ‘n’ Dale-based sire and has a yearling half-brother by Mineshaft. His dam is due to Vino Rosso for 2021. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

LIMEHOUSE S., $75,000, Gulfstream, 1-2, 3yo, 6f, 1:10.11, ft.
1–DRAIN THE CLOCK, 120, c, 3, by Maclean’s Music
1st Dam: Manki, by Arch
2nd Dam: Private Ice (GB), by Pivotal (GB)
3rd Dam: Midnight Air, by Green Dancer
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O-Slam Dunk Racing; B-Nick Cosato (KY); T-Saffie A Joseph Jr; J-Edgard J Zayas. $45,570. Lifetime Record: 4-3-0-0, $91,170.
2–Tiger, 118, c, 3, Dialed In–Sally’s Song, by Unbridled’s Song. O/B-Arindel (FL); T-Juan Alvarado. $14,700.
3–Runway Magic, 118, c, 3, Runhappy–Divine Escapade, by A.P. Indy. O-Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings Inc (J G Sikura) & Bruce Lunsford; B-W Bruce Lunsford & Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm (KY); T-George R Arnold II. $7,350.
Margins: 7HF, 1 3/4, 2. Odds: 1.90, 8.00, 3.30.
Also Ran: Newyearsblockparty, Warrior’s Pride, Highway Bound, Ocean Ride. Scratched: Willy Boi.

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Joseph Eyes Florida Derby Preps After Allowance Win By Moonlite Strike

Sonata Stable's Moonlite Strike is likely to embark on the Road to the Florida Derby (G1) following his gutsy victory in Thursday's featured optional claiming allowance at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

Moonlite Strike ($4.80) withstood race-long outside pressure before prevailing by a head over Peachtree Stable's Kiger, a stablemate in trainer Saffie Joseph Jr's. barn, in the mile optional claiming allowance for 2-year-olds carded as Race 8 on a 10-race program.

“All races are under consideration. Kiger didn't win so he'll probably go back in one of those [optional claiming allowances] again, just because we have the option to develop him more. There are only stakes for Moonlite Strike,” Joseph said. “The Mucho Macho Man will be under consideration in about three weeks again. There is also the Holy Bull (G3) if we want to give him more time.”

The mile $100,000 Mucho Macho Man is scheduled to kick off Gulfstream's Road to the Florida Derby on Jan. 2. The 1 1/16-mile $200,000 Holy Bull (G3) is scheduled for Jan. 30.

Moonlite Strike, who graduated by two lengths over a sloppy Gulfstream Park West in his second career start Nov. 14, broke cleanly from his No. 1 post position but was immediately confronted on the outside by Advance Cash and Real Talk. Jockey Edgard Zayas let the son of Liam's Map settle into stride while racing inside of the early leaders before sending him to the lead on the far turn. Real Talk continued to press him into the stretch before tiring while Moonlite Strike forged ahead to open a clear lead in mid-stretch.

Kiger, who was rated behind the early speeders by Emisael Jaramillo, made a steady run through the stretch but was unable to get the better of his stablemate. Hercules finished third 5 ¼ lengths farther back.

“Moonlite Strike had kind of a tough trip and did it the hard way,” Joseph said. “Kiger got the run of the race, basically. Both ran well. Kiger didn't switch leads. He's a bit of a weird horse. There's a lot more talent there, but he just waits, waits, waits. He got a good education today.”

Moonlite Strike, who ran a mile in 1:38.96, was sold at the 2019 Keeneland September sale for $120,000.

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