Drain the Clock back on track with Limehouse win, Swale likely next

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – There are a million ways to lose a horse race. Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. learned one of the more unusual ones when Drain the Clock lost his rider Heriberto Figueroa in the run down the backstretch as the even-money favorite in the Jean Lafitte Stakes at Delta Downs on Nov. 30. Figueroa said the sole of his boot ripped and he lost his balance.

Fortunately for Joseph, Drain the Clock came out of the incident none the worse for wear other than suffering his first defeat in three career starts. Drain the Clock rebounded here Saturday with a 7 1/4-length victory in the six-furlong Limehouse Stakes.

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“On paper, going into this race I knew he had to improve off his first two wins, and he exceeded my expectations,” said Joseph. “He had trained well going into the race, but I couldn’t have told you he’d run like that.

“Had things gone well at Delta Downs, there’s a good chance he would have been running in the Mucho Macho Man on Saturday instead. Now, we’ll look to gradually stretch him out, with the seven-furlong Swale at the end of the month a good possibility for his next start.”

The Joseph-trained Awesome Gerry, whose rider managed to stay aboard to finish second in the Jean Lafitte, did run in the Mucho Macho Man, finishing third behind the even-money Mutasaabeq after setting the pace to the stretch under Irad Ortiz Jr. Racing with blinkers for the first time, Awesome Gerry matched the 83 Beyer Speed Figure that Drain the Clock posted an hour earlier in the Limehouse.

“He’d never been in front before, but the blinkers added more speed,” said Joseph. “At the three-eighths pole he looked like a winner. Once he got passed a few seconds later, it looked like he couldn’t get the trip, but I was encouraged by the way he kept a steady pace to the end and the fact he got a career-high Beyer for the race. And afterwards, Irad asked me to let him ride the horse back. He said it would have been a different outcome if he’d ridden him once before.”

Joseph, who won the 2019 Mucho Macho Man with Chance It, said he’d likely run Awesome Gerry back in one of the upcoming 3-year-old Derby preps. Joseph noted that the 1 1/16-mile configuration at Gulfstream Park “suits him well,” an indication the Grade 3 Holy Bull at that distance on Jan. 30 could be next on the agenda.

Joseph had Ny Traffic, his top 3-year-old from 2020, back on the work tab for an easy three-eighths blowout here Sunday. The breeze was the first for Ny Traffic since being given a break following disappointing efforts in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness.

“He got cut up pretty bad in the Derby, and in hindsight I probably shouldn’t have run him in the Preakness,” Joseph said. “We just backed off after that, freshened him up, and are looking forward to a big 4-year-old season with most of the top horses in the division having been retired. We have nothing picked out for his first start. He’ll need at least five or six more works until he’s ready to run.”