Liam's Dove took the lead out of the gate, setting early fractions of :23.41, 48.52, and 1.13.32 as Awake at Midnyte, Half Past Twelve, and Tezzaray stalked the pace around the first turn and down the backstretch. On the far turn, Liam's Dove still held a tenuous lead, as Tezzaray under jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. angled out from the rail and went two-wide into the stretch.

The race was wide open as Liam's Dove's lead began to shrink in the face of stretch challenges from first Awake at Midnyte and then Tezzaray and Toeris. Those three came down to the wire together, with Tezzaray getting up in the final strides to win by a nose. Awake at Midnyte was second, with Toeris third and the favorite Helen's Well fourth.

The final time for the one-mile Jimmy Durante was 1:37.56. Find this race's chart here.

Tezzaray paid $8.20, $5.00, and $3.60. Awake at Midnyte paid $8.80 and $7.00. Toeris paid $13.80.

“I had a good trip. I was in a little tight at the three-eighth pole, but that wasn't anything big. She's a very European filly; she likes to run covered up. When it came time to run – boom – she went,” jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. said after the race.

“I had confidence in her. She's one of those fillies that are very classy and does everything right. I thought we won, then I thought we didn't, but luckily we got the head bob. I thought all three of my fillies ran very well and all got great rides. Irad (Ortiz, Jr.) had a really clean trip and once he got her in the clear she really kicked home,” trainer Peter Miller told the Del Mar Press Office after the Jimmy Durante.

Bred in England by Lady Richard Wellesley, Tezzaray is out of the Cadeaux Genereaux (GB) mare Amber Queen (IRE). She is owned by Slam Dunk Racing and Roger H. Newman and trained by Peter Miller. The 2-year-old filly was consigned by Ballinvana House Stud and sold to Karl Burke for $29,408 at the 2020 Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale. With her win in the G3 stakes, her lifetime record is two wins in four starts for career earnings of $104,997.

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Trained and co-owned by Richard Baltas with Slam Dunk Racing, Richard McClanahan, and Michael Nentwig, Ginobili is named for Manu Ginobili, a retired basketball player who starred for the San Antonio Spurs.

“It was an excellent work,” Baltas said on Friday evening. “He galloped out in 1:12 and 1 and out in 1:26 and did it in a gallop. I was really happy with the way he worked. He was more relaxed than usual.”

The 4-year-old Munnings bay, a $35,000 purchase at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, graduated at second asking sprinting six furlongs in August 2019 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif., ahead of a fourth-place finish in the G1 Del Mar Futurity.

That effort was followed by a difficult run of form with Ginobili hitting the board just once in his next four starts to conclude his sophomore season in October 2020.

Ginobili was given a lengthy layoff and returned in May to finish off-the-board in a turf sprint and fourth in a main-track sprint in June at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. But the addition of blinkers and a stretch out in distance in July saw Ginobili end a nine-race losing streak with a two-turn score in a one-mile optional claimer at Del Mar that garnered a career-best 104 Beyer.

Ginobili followed that effort by besting multiple graded stakes winner C Z Rocket in the seven-furlong G2 Pat O'Brien in August at Del Mar, a “Win and You're In” qualifier for the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. Ginobili performed admirably in the Dirt Mile, completing the exacta behind Life Is Good.

Baltas said that Ginobili, who was gelded in June 2020, benefitted from a number of changes.

“I turned him out and we did a minor surgery [ankle chip] on him and gave him some time and brought him back as much sounder horse as a 4-year-old,” Baltas said. “The blinkers were a big deal and the stretch out – it's been a combination of things. We're excited that he's done what he's done this year and we're hoping that will continue.”

Baltas said Ginobili was slated to ship to New York on Saturday.

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“I loved him because even as an early 2-year-old he looked like a 3-year-old,” Cosato said this morning of the horse that produced a 1 ¾-length victory in Saturday's $200,000 Grade 2 Pat O'Brien Stakes at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif. “So we were in right away, and some other partners eventually came in as well.”

Cosato did the naming honors, coming up with the surname of Manu Ginobili, the native of Argentina who was a four-time NBA champion while starring with the San Antonio Spurs.

Unlike his namesake, Ginobili the horse wasn't a consistent winner. He came into the Pat O'Brien with two wins from 12 lifetime starts, a maiden score here in August of 2019 and a mile allowance tally on July 17, the second day of the current meeting, by an impressive  9 ¾ lengths.

“The Munnings line is kind of curious,” Cosato said. “He throws a variety (of runners); they tend to be good on the turf but that's not true for all of them.”

So finding the right surface and distance took some doing. But input from jockey Joe Bravo following a fourth-place finish in a 6 ½-furlong race at Santa Anita on June 19 led to a 9¾-length victory in a mile event here on July 17 that generated thoughts of bigger things.

“Did the mile wake him up? Possibly, but I think adding blinkers and a couple other things contributed too,” Cosato said.

Following the July 17 race, the partnership was ready for a step up to stakes, but not unified on just which one and where. The TVG Pacific Classic, the Charles Town Classic, and the Pat O'Brien were discussed before settling on the latter, a “Win and You're In” qualifier for the $1 million Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar on November 6.

With Bravo committed to riding Flagstaff for trainer John Sadler, jockey Drayden Van Dyke got the call on Ginobili and executed a best-case scenario, positioning outside front-runner Brickyard Ride for the first half-mile, opening up 3 ½-lengths at the top of the stretch and holding on nicely from there.

Craig Lewis, trainer of Brickyard Ride, was disappointed that the stall gate, which should have been shut, was left open and his horse bolted through before the start. Brickyard Ride was reined in and deemed still worthy to race, but the premature exertion probably contributed to his tiring after a half-mile and finishing last.

“These are things we don't have any control over and you wish wouldn't happen,” Lewis said.

Ginobili reportedly came out of the race in fine fettle as did runner-up and 2-1 favorite C Z Rocket and third-place Flagstaff.

“The horse ran great, I have no fault with the horse or the rider,” said Peter Miller, trainer of C Z Rocket.  “Hats off to the winner.

“But I'd like to have seen what they could have done on a (different) racetrack. Hopefully, we get that for the Sprint Championship (Stakes) at Santa Anita and for the Breeders' Cup. More importantly for the Breeders' Cup.”

Sadler on Flagstaff: “We thought he ran a good race. He didn't win but he ran a good race. Props to the winner, who ran a great race. (Flagstaff) might run again at Santa Anita and then come back for the Breeders' Cup Sprint.”

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The Maclean's Music colt registered a four-furlong breeze in :47:47 in company with 2020 Grade 1 Haskell runner-up Ny Traffic over the Saratoga main for trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr.

Owned by Slam Dunk Racing, Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables, and Michael Nentwig, Drain the Clock finished second behind top divisional contender Jackie's Warrior in the 6 1/2-furlong Amsterdam on a sloppy and sealed track August 1.

The ultra-consistent Drain the Clock enters the seven-furlong H. Allen Jerkens with momentum, posting four wins and a pair of second-place finishes through the first six starts of his 3-year-old campaign. He won the Grade 3 Swale, contested at the Jerkens distance, by 6 1/4 lengths in January at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., and tallied consecutive wins on the NYRA circuit with a 1 3/4-length victory in the Grade 3 Bay Shore in April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.,  before edging Jackie's Warrior by a neck in the seven-furlong Woody Stephens on Belmont Stakes Day June 5.

“He had a good work going in company with Ny Traffic and galloped out pretty strong,” Joseph, Jr. said. “Obviously, last time he was well-beaten fair and square by Jackie's Warrior. Now, you have Life Is Good in this race, so, hopefully, we can get outside this time. I think the draw will have a lot to do with it. But we're willing to give it another chance.”

Joseph, Jr. also saw two contenders for the $600,000 Grade 1 Forego work Saturday at Saratoga, with Chance It and Mischevious Alex logging four furlongs in :48.12 and :48.48, respectively, on the main track.

The Forego, for 4-year-olds and up sprinting seven furlongs, will give four-time graded stakes-winner Mischevious Alex a chance to add to that total, with the Into Mischief colt posting wins in last year's Grade 3 Swale and Grade 3 Gotham as a sophomore before continuing to improve as a 4-year-old, winning the Grade 3 Gulfstream Park Sprint in February and romping by 5 1/2 lengths in the Grade 1 Carter in April at the Big A.

After running third in the Grade 1 Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan Handicap on Belmont Stakes Day, Mischevious Alex [owned by Cash is King and LC Racing] ran eighth in the six-furlong Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt on July 31 at Saratoga. Joseph, Jr. said his charge has continued to work well as he readies to stretch back out to seven furlongs next week.

Shooting Star Thoroughbreds' Chance It, second last out in the Grade 3 Smile Sprint going six furlongs on July 3 at Gulfstream, has compiled a 4-4-0 record in nine starts entering his Saratoga debut. The 4-year-old son of Currency Swap is looking for his first graded stakes victory.

“They worked by themselves and they seem to be coming into the race in good order,” Joseph, Jr. said.

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The 4-year-old Into Mischief bay worked a half-mile solo in :48.45 on the main track in preparation for a start in the $600,000 Grade 1 Forego at seven furlongs on the main track on Travers Day August 28.

“He's bounced out of the race good. We haven't seen anything to deter us running back in the Forego,” Joseph, Jr. said. “He got the thumps last time pretty bad. Hopefully, that was the reason for his performance.”

A multiple graded stakes winner, Mischevious Alex has won 3-of-5 starts this year, including scores in the Grade 3 Gulfstream Park Sprint at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., in February and the Grade 1 Carter Handicap in April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.

Joseph Jr. said Friday's breeze have him confidence that Mischevious Alex could return to form in the Forego.

“He went a good half by himself. Hopefully, the real Alex shows up and if he does, he'll have a good chance,” Joseph, Jr. said.

Slam Dunk Racing, Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables, and Michael Nentwig's Drain the Clock, a sophomore son of Maclean's Music, also breezed Friday covering a half-mile in :48.83 on the main track.

Boasting a record of six wins and two seconds from nine starts, Drain the Clock bested Jackie's Warrior by a neck on June 5 at Belmont in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens.

Last out, in the 6 1/2-furlong Grade 2 Amsterdam, Jackie's Warrior turned the tables with a romping 7 1/4-length score over a sloppy and sealed Saratoga main track.

Joseph Jr. said he is hopeful Drain the Clock will one-up his familiar foe in the $500,000 Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial on Travers Day.

“No one was beating Jackie that day. He ran dynamite. Maybe our horse didn't run his best that day but all credit to Jackie,” Joseph, Jr. said. “We have no excuse. We had a good trip. The record is one and one. He's beat us once, we beat him once. We'll try again in the Allen Jerkens.”

John Fanelli, Cash is King, LC Racing, Paul Braverman, and Team Hanley's Ny Traffic, a 4-year-old New York-bred son of Cross Traffic, breezed a half-mile in :48 flat Sunday on the main track.

The talented colt finished second in a trio of graded events last year, including the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby in March at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, La., the Grade 3 Matt Winn in May at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., and the Grade 1 Haskell at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., in July in which he finished just a nose back of Authentic.

Ny Traffic won his seasonal debut in May at Belmont by 6 3/4-lengths sprinting seven furlongs against fellow state-breds in an optional claimer and followed with a close second in the Grade 3 Salvator Mile in June at Monmouth.

Last out, Ny Traffic faded to fourth in the nine-furlong Grade 3 Monmouth Cup on July 17.

“He went good this morning. It was his first breeze back since Monmouth, I had him in 47 and 4. It was a good work back,” Joseph Jr. said. “There's a possibility he could go in the Forego or the Charles Town Classic.”

Joseph Jr. said Ny Traffic will breeze again next weekend before he decides on cutting back to seven furlongs for the Forego or stretching out to nine furlongs for the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic at Charles Town in Charles Town, W.Va. on August 27.

Overall, Joseph, Jr. said he has been pleased with Ny Traffic's performances this season.

“He won his debut at Belmont and in his second race at Monmouth he ran second but it was a good race,” Joseph, Jr. said. “Last time he disappointed a little bit if you just look at the running lines, but the reality is that he acted up pre-race back at the barn and I think he lost his race there. It wasn't a true run.”

Joseph, Jr. said e Five Racing Thoroughbreds' Gibberish will turn back to nine furlongs for the $120,000 Summer Colony on August 22 at the Spa.

Last out, the 4-year-old daughter of Lea was a game second to Miss Marissa in the 10-furlong Grade 2 Delaware Handicap on July 10.

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Slam Dunk Racing and Madaket Stables' Drain the Clock, 2-1 on the morning line, captured the seven-furlong GIII Swale S. at Gulfstream in January and was second in the 1 1/16-mile GII Fountain of Youth S. Shipped north and cut back to seven furlongs, the chestnut colt won the Apr. 3 GIII Bay Shore S. before his Woody Stephens victory.

“Most of his one-turn races were won in hand,” trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. said. “He was basically geared down the last sixteenth in the Bay Shore. We always thought he had more to give but until you see it you don't know for sure and the Woody Stephens was definitely his breakout race. He earned his respect that day and beat a game horse in Jackie's Warrior. He's in good form and I think he's going over there with a really good chance.”

J. Kirk and Judy Robison's Jackie's Warrior is already a two-time graded winner over the Saratoga surface having won last year's GII Saratoga Special and GI Hopeful S. during his flashy juvenile campaign. Fourth in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile and third when again trying 1 1/16 miles in the Feb. 27 GIII Southwest S., he was cut back in distance to win the May 1 GII Pat Day Mile and was game in defeat in the Woody Stephens. The bay colt, trained by Steve Asmussen, is 6-5 on the morning line.

Klaravich Stables' Crowded Trade (More Than Ready) graduated going one mile at Aqueduct in his Jan. 28 debut and jumped right up to graded company where he was nosed out of the win when second in the Mar. 6 GIII Gotham S. He was third in the Apr. 3 GII Wood Memorial and will be making his first start since finishing fifth in the GI Preakness S. May 15. The Chad Brown trainee is 7-2 on the morning line.

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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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With Jose Ortiz subbing for his sidelined brother Irad Ortiz, Jr., the last out GIII Bay Shore S. winner broke sharply and very briefly cleared the field of six. Jackie's Warrior, off a step slowly after getting bumped at the start, rushed up and challenged from the inside as those two locked horns through an opening quarter in :22.09 and half mile in :44.19.

Last year's GI Champagne S. winner held a slight advantage and floated Drain the Clock into the seven path as they hit the quarter pole. Jackie's Warrior led by a length at the stretch call and continued to dig down gamely, but Drain the Clock just kept on coming on the outside and wore down that rival to win in a pulsating finish at odds of 7-1.

A runaway winner of Gulfstream's Limehouse S. Jan. 2 and GIII Claiborne Farm Swale S. Jan. 30, Drain the Clock stretched to 1 1/16 miles with a solid second after setting the pace in the GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. Feb. 27. He bypassed the Triple Crown trail and turned back to seven furlongs for an easy score in the Bay Shore Apr. 3.

“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,” winning trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. said. “We just left it up to Jose [Ortiz]. We told him the break was important and to make [Joel] Rosario [aboard Jackie's Warrior] 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.”

Ortiz added, “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.”

Joseph added that the GI Allen Jerkens Memorial S. at Saratoga Aug. 28 would be next for Drain the Clock.

Pedigree Notes:

Drain the Clock is one of five graded winners for promising young sire Maclean's Music. This is his fourth Grade I winner. Arch is the broodmare sire of 31 graded winners, including standouts such as dual Classic winner I'll Have Another and champion Uncle Mo.

The winner's dam Manki aborted her 2019 foal by Mr Speaker, but has since produced a Mineshaft colt in 2020 and a filly by Vino Rosso in 2021. Winless in four career starts, she most recently RNA'd for $55,000 at the 2015 KEEJAN sale.

Drain the Clock's Group 3-winning third dam was responsible for Midnight Line (Kris S.), third in the 1998 G1 Vodafone Oaks and later a Grade II winner and multiple Grade I-placed in North America. Midnight Line is the dam of MGSW & MG1SP Communique (Ire) (Casamento {Ire}).

Saturday, Belmont Park
WOODY STEPHENS S. PRESENTED BY NASSAU COUNTY INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY-GI, $392,000, Belmont, 6-5, 3yo, 7f, 1:22.27, gd.
1–DRAIN THE CLOCK, 124, 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 GRADE I WIN. O-Slam Dunk Racing, Madaket Stables LLC,
Wonder Stables and Nentwig, Michael; B-Nick Cosato (KY);
T-Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.; J-Jose L. Ortiz. $220,000. Lifetime
Record: 8-6-1-0, $539,550. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for
eNick report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Jackie's Warrior, 124, c, 3, Maclean's Music–Unicorn Girl, by
A. P. Five Hundred. ($95,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-J Kirk &
Judy Robison; B-J & J Stables (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen.
$80,000.
3–Nova Rags, 122, c, 3, Union Rags–Wishful Splendor, by Smart
Strike. ($275,000 RNA Ylg '19 KEESEP). O/B-Michael P. Shanley
(KY); T-William I. Mott. $48,000.
Margins: NK, 7 1/4, 3/4. Odds: 7.50, 1.05, 11.70.
Also Ran: Dream Shake, Tulane Tryst, Caddo River.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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“We knew she was training really well coming into this race,” said winning trainer Simon Callaghan. “We felt that the set up would be perfect. A mile and an eighth, back here in California, I think is totally her game. We had some speed to run at and it actually turned out exactly how we wrote up the race.”

Maxim Rate was second behind Mucho Unusual (Mucho Macho Man) in last year's GI Rodeo Drive S. before winning the Oct. 25 GII Goldikova S. She ended 2020 with a fifth-place effort in the Nov. 29 GI Matriarch S. In her only previous 2021 outing, the 5-year-old mare was fifth in the Apr. 10 GI Coolmore Jenny Wiley S. at Keeneland.

“The Grade I was our main aim and to pull it off is fantastic for all of the owners, all of the Slam Dunk Team, everyone involved,” Callaghan said. “Now, we'll just space the races out and it will be nice to get to the Breeders' Cup.”

Pedigree Notes:

Maxim Rate's Gamely win gave her broodmare sire Unbridled's Song his 27th Grade I victory.

Catch My Eye, a full-sister to the dam of 2017 G3 UAE Oaks winner Nomorerichblondes (Hard Spun), has an unraced 2-year-old colt by Violence who RNA'd for $150,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale. The mare produced a colt by Street Sense last year and was bred back to More Than Ready.

Monday, Santa Anita

GAMELY S.-GI, $301,000, Santa Anita, 5-31, 3yo/up, f/m,
1 1/8mT, 1:46.61, fm.
1–MAXIM RATE, 124, m, 5, by Exchange Rate
1st Dam: Catch My Eye, by Unbridled's Song
2nd Dam: Sharp Eyes, by Storm Cat
3rd Dam: Gaelic Bird (Fr), by Gay Mecene
1ST GRADE I WIN. ($130,000 Wlg '16 KEENOV; $235,000 Ylg
'17 KEESEP). O-Slam Dunk Racing, Stable Currency LLC & James
D Branham; B-Fred W Hertrich III & John D Fielding (KY);
T-Simon Callaghan; J-Juan J Hernandez. $180,000. Lifetime
Record: 16-6-3-0, $597,185. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the
   eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–La Signare (Fr), 122, m, 6, by Siyouni (Fr)
1st Dam: La Teranga (Fr), by Beat Hollow (GB)
2nd Dam: Adrastea (Ire), by Monsun (Ger)
3rd Dam: Akasma (Ger), by Windwurf (Ger)
O-Madaket Stables LLC, Tim & Anna Cambron & Bradley
Thoroughbreds; B-Moussa Mbacke (FR); T-Brendan P Walsh.
$60,000.
3–Bodhicitta (GB), 124, m, 5, by Showcasing (GB)
1st Dam: Solfilia (GB), by Teofilo (Ire)
2nd Dam: Suntory (Ire), by Royal Applause (GB)
3rd Dam: Klarifi (GB), by Habitat
(£55,000 Ylg '17 GOUKPR; £100,000 2yo '18 GOFBRE;
60,000gns 3yo '19 TATHIT; $775,000 RNA 4yo '20 FTKNOV).
O-Calvin Nguyen; B-Fonthill Farms & Mr & Mrs A Scott (GB);
T-Richard Baltas. $36,000.
Margins: HF, HF, NK. Odds: 13.90, 4.80, 12.80.
Also Ran: Keeper Ofthe Stars, Going to Vegas, Charmaine's Mia, Red Lark (Ire). Scratched: Raymundos Secret, Stela Star (Ire).
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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The Maclean's Music chestnut colt cut back in distance for the seven-furlong sprint after finishing second in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 Fountain of Youth on February 27 at Gulfstream Park.

Drain the Clock was a step slow leaving the gate under jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr., but quickly established command. Two-time winning Parx invader Beren, who stumbled at the start, kept close company to the outside in second as Drain the Clock led the compact five-horse field through opening fractions of 23.68 and 47.97 seconds over the fast main track.

Around the turn, Drain the Clock extended his advantage as Beren began to relinquish. Ortiz, Jr. got busy aboard his charge nearing the quarter pole and opened up a 4 ½-length lead in upper stretch.

Drain the Clock lugged out slightly nearing the furlong marker as Ortiz, Jr. went to the left hand with Whiskey Double launching a late bid to the outside. By the sixteenth pole, Ortiz, Jr. had Drain the Clock under wraps as he strolled past the finish line a 1 3/4-length winner in a final time of 1:25.97. Whiskey Double made up considerable ground to get second, 5 3/4 lengths ahead of Too Boss in third.

Beren and Garoppolo rounded out the order of finish.

Owned by Slam Dunk Racing, Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables and Michael Nentwig, Drain the Clock improved his record to 7-5-1-0, with his other graded stakes win coming two starts back in the Grade 3 Swale on January 30 at Gulfstream Park, which also was at seven furlongs.

“He just wants to break out of there. He broke a little [slow] out of there but he put himself right away into the race and took me to the lead,” said Ortiz, Jr., who returned to New York fresh off a riding title at Gulfstream Park. “I let him relax and then I asked him to go and he was running hard to the wire.”

The victory was a first graded stakes win in New York for Florida-based trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr., who will have a string at Belmont Park this summer for the first time.

“I thought he kicked away well at the top of the lane and did what he had to do. If you ease up on him, he's going to relax,” Joseph, Jr. said. “The five [Beren] didn't get a good break, unfortunately, and we didn't get pressed. If that horse went, we were going to sit. He's a very versatile horse and he doesn't need the lead.”

A NYRA Grade 1 could be in order for Drain the Clock, as Joseph, Jr. listed the $400,000 Woody Stephens on June 5 at Belmont Park and the $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial on August 28 at Saratoga as long terms goals for the talented colt.

“I'll talk it over with the ownership group. The Woody Stephens was in play even before this race but this puts it even more up there,” Joseph, Jr. said. “It's definitely on the radar. The Woody Stephens and Allen Jerkens are the types of races you want to be in. If we could win one it would be nice, if we could win both it would be great.”

Bred in Kentucky by Nick Cosato, Drain the Clock is the third offspring out of the Arch mare Manki, whose two other progeny of racing age are winners.

Drain the Clock banked $110,000 in victory while improving his lifetime earnings to $319,550. He returned $2.70 for a $2 win ticket.

Live racing resumes Thursday at Aqueduct with an eight-race card. First post is 1:20 p.m. Eastern.

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