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Tribhuvan Returns In Style To Take G2 Fort Marcy

The 10-month layoff was no issue for Tribhuvan, who shook off the rust with a 1 1/2-length victory going wire-to-wire in Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 Fort Marcy, a nine-furlong inner turf test for older horses at Belmont Park.

Owned by Wonder Stables, Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb and Michael Caruso, Tribhuvan was one of three Fort Marcy aspirants trained by Chad Brown, who also sent out Rockemperor and Devamani.

Tribhuvan made his first start since posting a narrow allowance optional claiming score over graded stakes winner Ballagh Rocks on July 4 at Belmont over the Widener turf course. The victory was a fourth lifetime win, and first at graded stakes level for the French-bred son of Toronado, who won twice in his native land for former conditioner Henri-Alex Pantall. He competed in last year's edition of the Fort Marcy, but was pulled up in mid-stretch after a buckle on his reins broke when hitting the gate at the start.

Tribhuvan broke sharply from post three under Eric Cancel, and commanded the field into the first turn with a six-length advantage through an opening quarter-mile in 23.56 seconds and the half-mile in 47.89 over the firm turf.

Down the backstretch, the field began gaining on the frontrunner, with New York-bred stakes-winner City Man poised to pounce in second along the hedge with Wissahickon to his outside.

Cancel was relaxed aboard his charge until upper stretch when he gave Tribhuvan his cue. City Man made a bid but was unable to catch the leader who completed the 1 1/8 miles in 1:46.11. City Man finished another two lengths clear of third-place finisher Rockemperor.

Completing the order of finish were Devamani, winner of last year's G2 Knickerbocker, and Wissahickon.

“They said they wanted me to go, and I did what I was told to do,” said Cancel, whose first graded stakes triumph came aboard Smooth Daddy in the 2017 Fort Marcy. “The trip worked out very well. I settled on the pace and got my horse to relax. He made a really nice run from the quarter-pole to the wire.”

Brown won his fourth consecutive Fort Marcy – and fifth overall – adding to a list which includes Big Blue Kitten [2015], Robert Bruce [2018], Olympico [2019] and Instilled Regard [2020].

Tribhuvan, along with Brown's other two runners, were saddled by his assistant Dan Stupp.

“I expected all three to run well as they all had trained well,” Stupp said. “The winner got a little lost in the wagering but he's a horse last year that we had high hopes for. He had a little trouble in this race last year when the buckle on the rein broke coming out of the gate, so it was nice to see him come back and start the year off the right way.

“There was no pace on paper and he's a horse that's very sharp in his training,” Stupp added. “He has a lot of energy and he was the logical horse to let him have his head a little bit and go to the front and back it down a bit. Eric did a great job executing that plan.”

Tribhuvan, who returned $22.40 as the longest shot in the field, improved his record to 17-4-2-3 and nearly doubled his lifetime earnings to $221,154.

Dan Stupp, assistant to trainer Chad Brown of winner Tribhuvan (No. 3, Tribhuvan, $22.40), third-place Rockemperor (No. 2) and fourth-place Devamani (No.1): “I expected all three to run well as they all had trained well. The winner got a little lost in the wagering but he's a horse last year that we had high hopes for. He had a little trouble in this race last year when the buckle on the rein broke coming out of the gate, so it was nice to see him come back and start the year off the right way.”

On sending Tribhuvan to the lead: “There was no pace on paper and he's a horse that's very sharp in his training. He has a lot of energy and he was the logical horse to let him have his head a little bit and go to the front and back it down a bit. Eric [Cancel] did a great job executing that plan.”

Eric Cancel, winning jockey aboard Tribhuvan (No. 3): “They said they wanted me to go and I did what I was told to do. The trip worked out very well. I settled on the pace and got my horse to relax. He made a really nice run from the quarter-pole to the wire.”

Trevor McCarthy, jockey aboard runner-up City Man (No. 4): “I can't knock him. He got a great trip. It was a fast pace in front of us and every time I got to Chad's horse [Tribhuvan], he seemed to have a little bit more. My horse was coming off a little bit of a layoff, so I was happy with him.”

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Not This Time Colt Runs Away With Runyon

Excellent Timing rewarded his new connections with a dominant front-running score in the Damon Runyon S. for New York-breds Sunday. Second on debut at Belmont as the chalk Oct. 18, the dark bay ran up the score to 7 1/4 lengths and earned an 81 Beyer Speed Figure going a sixteenth shorter here Dec. 10 for Happy Face Racing Stable and Charlton Baker. He subsequently changed hands privately, and was heavily favored to handle the next test.

Right to the front, Excellent Timing doled out soft splits of :24.49 and :49.19 while always seeming to be in complete control. Already far in front as he straightened for home, the colt cruised to the wire unchallenged and was geared down late to become the fifth black-type winner for his well-regarded now second-crop sire (by Giant's Causeway).

“The horse ran huge,” said Dan Stupp, assistant to trainer Chad Brown. “The team down at Payson [Park in Florida] did a good job preparing him this winter. He came up in great shape; he put on some weight and his coat looks great. Manny [Franco] did a great job allowing him to show his natural cruising speed and getting him to relax and settle. The horse did the rest from there.

“Off the layoff, you aren't 100% percent sure what to expect. He had put in some good works down in Florida. We worked him a nice half-mile here at Belmont last week (:48 3/5 over the training track Mar. 7) and it went great. We knew he would run well, but you never know off the bench. The track is a little deep and tiring, but we're happy with the performance.”

Co-owner Michael Dubb said, “We had open company on our mind, but this time of year, everyone throws 3-year-olds to the wolves. This horse could have a nice and long career, so we wanted to develop the horse the right way and not get him where he loses interest. We want to get him used to winning. Hopefully, once we do that, we can go to open company. It's the right thing to do with the horse.

“The fact that it's a Not This Time [colt] gave us the idea that he could stretch out and we do expect the horse will stretch out. We'll go from there.”

The winner has a 2-year-old half-sister by Union Jackson and a yearling half-sister by Unified. His dam, a half to GSW Inexplicable (Miswaki) from an old and deep Tartan Farms family, most recently visited Maximus Mischief.

DAMON RUNYON S., $100,000, Aqueduct, 3-14, (S), 3yo, 7f, 1:28.02, ft.
1–EXCELLENT TIMING, 118, c, 3, by Not This Time
                1st Dam: Explicable, by Pioneerof the Nile
                2nd Dam: Mythomania, by Nureyev
                3rd Dam: Mythographer, by Secretariat
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. O-Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables LLC
& Wonder Stables; B-Sequel Stallions New York, LLC & Lakland
Farm (NY); T-Chad C. Brown; J-Manuel Franco. $55,000.
Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0, $107,500.
2–Perfect Munnings, 122, c, 3, Munnings–Our Perfect Ten, by
Medaglia d'Oro. ($50,000 Ylg '19 SARAUG). O-JP Racing Stable;
B-Tammy & Robert Klimasewski (NY); T-Todd A. Pletcher.
$20,000.
3–It's Gravy, 118, g, 3, Freud–It's Macaroni, by City Zip. O/B-Mr.
Amore Stables, LLC (NY); T-Kelly J. Breen. $12,000.
Margins: 6 3/4, 5, 1 1/4. Odds: 0.65, 3.00, 13.60.
Also Ran: It's a Gamble, A Longlongtimeago, Echoes of Destiny, Reggae Music Man, The King Cheek. Scratched: Eagle Orb. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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Drain The Clock Overcomes Recent Colic, Dominates Swale Stakes At Gulfstream

Drain the Clock kept on ticking in Saturday's $100,000 Claiborne Farm Swale (G3) at Gulfstream Park, running his South Florida record to 4-for-4 with a dominating 6 ¼-length triumph.

The Swale, a seven-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds, was featured on a 12-race program with five graded stakes, headlined by the $200,000 Holy Bull (G3).

Drain the Clock, whose only loss in five career starts came at Delta Downs when his rider was unseated after a rein broke, was particularly impressive Saturday when it was revealed that the son of Maclean's Music was treated for a case of colic less than two weeks earlier.

“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.'”

Owned by Slam Dunk Racing, Madaket Racing Stables LLC, Wonder Stables and Michael Nentwig, Drain the Clock was sent to post as the even-money favorite in a field of six on the strength of his 7 ½-length victory in the six-furlong Limehouse Stakes Jan. 2 at Gulfstream. The Kentucky-bred colt broke alertly from the starting gate to rate outside pacesetter Poppy's Pride, who set fractions of 22.48 and 45.27 seconds for the first half-mile. Drain the Clock moved effortless to the lead under Edgar Zayas on the turn into the stretch and continued on to score a comfortable victory.

Drain the Clock ran seven furlongs in 1:23.29 after being taken under wraps approaching the finish.

“I'm very impressed. He's just improving every race. He's such an easy horse to ride. He breaks out of the gate like a rocket and positions himself in a perfect spot, and when it's time to run he kicks on. He's a really nice horse,” Zayas said. “I think he's maturing a lot. He's running way more straight and more focused into the race. Sometimes inside the gate he was a little nervous but today he was awesome. I think he's improving; hopefully he can stretch out his speed a little bit more.”

King's Ovation and Ultimate Badger, the longest and second-longest shots on the board, finishes second and third for trainer Dale Romans.

Drain the Clock won his Sept. 12 debut in a five-furlong off-the-turf race at Gulfstream by six lengths and came right back to win a first-level optional claiming allowance at Gulfstream Park West. Favored in the Nov. 30 Jean Lafitte Stakes at Delta Downs, Drain the Clock lost his rider after a rein broke during the race, but has rebounded nicely with back-to-back scores in the Limehouse and Swale.

The $300,000 Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth (G2) Feb. 27 at Gulfstream Park will be taken into consideration for Drain the Clock's next start, Joseph said.

“Everything will be under consideration. 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.”

The 1 1/16-mile Fountain of Youth is the major prep for the $750,000 Curlin Florida Derby presented by Hill 'n Dale at Xalapa.

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Tamahere Impressive In U.S. Debut For Brown, Wins Sands Point

Swift Thoroughbreds, Inc., Madaket Stables and Wonder Stables' French-bred Tamahere made her North American debut a winning one in Saturday's Grade 2, $150,000 Sands Point at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Trained by four-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown, Tamahere entered the one-turn mile for sophomore fillies on the Widener turf off a nearly three-month layoff from a romping 7 1/2-length score in the Prix la Sorellina at La Teste De Buch in her native country.

Tamahere settled in seventh position as Pure Wow led the eight-horse field through splits of 23.87 seconds, 47.54 and 1:11.68 on the firm turf while being tracked by 2-1 post-time favorite Miss J McKay and longshot Drop a Hint.

Pure Wow maintained a precarious lead turning for home with Giacosa launching a four-wide bid and Tamahere following her run outside of rivals as Drop a Hint angled off the rail to stake her claim. Speaktomeofsummer, winner of the Grade 2 Lake Placid in July at Saratoga, was full of run but trapped behind rivals with a furlong to run as Tamahere, under urging from Irad Ortiz, Jr., demonstrated a powerful turn of foot and surged to a two-length victory in a final time of 1:35.21.

Speaktomeofsummer, with Joel Rosario up, arrived late to complete the exacta by three-quarters of a length over Drop a Hint.

Rounding out the order of finish were Pure Wow, a dead heat for fifth between Selflessly and Giacosa, Miss J McKay and Positive Power.

Brown said Tamahere, who was reluctant to load into the starting gate, performed to the potential she had shown in her morning workouts at Belmont and Saratoga.

“She trained brilliantly,” said Brown, who earned his fourth career Sands Point score. “As you can see behind the gate, there's still some work to do. She's a high-strung horse. She was a little bit keen early on, but Irad got her to settle and she showed us that turn of foot that she showed us in the morning. She's a really exciting horse to have for the future. We're lucky to have her. She gave us a lot of confidence that she would be a good horse.”

Brown's past Sands Point winners include Ball Dancing [2014], Uni [2017] and New and Improved [2019].

Ortiz, Jr., who guided Uni to her Sands Point score, said Tamahere settled nicely once away from the gate.

“She broke good and put me in a good position,” said Ortiz, Jr. “We got some pace in front of us and that worked out perfect because she settled down and relaxed so well. The trainer had told me 'she has a nice turn-of-foot, you're going to love her.' I just trusted Chad and waited as long as I could and when I asked her, she was ready.”

Rosario, aboard the late-closing Speaktomeofsummer, said his filly ran well once she saw daylight.

“It looked like for a second I had a hole to go through and then it just closed, so I had to wait a little longer,” said Rosario. “The other horse just got the jump. She ran well.”

Tamahere, bred in France by E.A.R.L. Elevage Du Sarai, banked $82,500 in victory while improving her record to 7-3-2-1. She paid $7 for a $2 win ticket.

Live racing resumes Sunday at Belmont Park with a 10-race card highlighted by the 130th running of the Grade 3, $100,000 Futurity, a six-furlong turf sprint offering a “Win and You're In” berth to the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint on November 6 at Keeneland. It is one of two turf stakes for juveniles on the 10-race card, with the Grade 3, $100,000 Matron for 2-year-old fillies going six furlongs also on the docket. First post is 12:50 p.m.

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