Drain the Clock brushes off colic, takes commanding Swale triumph

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Just 12 days after being in the clinic with colic, Drain the Clock was back in the winner’s circle after registering a one-sided, 6 1/4-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 3 Swale at Gulfstream Park.

“He came down with colic 12 days ago at 5 in the afternoon and at 1 a.m. we had to take him to the clinic, and by later that morning he was fine,” trainer Saffie Joseph explained after the race. “I was under no pressured (from the owners) to run him today. I said I’ll work him Tuesday, see how he goes, and he didn’t give us any reason to say no. You’re making the call on what you’re seeing and until you get the result you never know. Obviously it was hard to come into this race with any confidence (after what happened), and to see him win like that, he’s some horse.”

Drain the Clock, who captured the six-furlong Limehouse Stakes in similarly easy fashion, by 7 1/2 widening lengths here Jan. 2, broke alertly under regular rider Edgard Zayas to stalk the early pace of Poppy’s Pride. Drain the Clock readily overtook the leader shortly after the opening half-mile, drew off to a commanding advantage in early stretch and was being geared down with the result no longer in doubt through the final 70 yards.

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Trainer Dale Romans’ pair of King’s Ovation and Ultimate Badger rallied belatedly to finish second and third respectively, while never menacing the winner. Likeable, a tiring Poppy’s Pride, and By George, who was eased far back after losing contact with the field after six furlongs, completed the order of finish.

The win was the fourth in five career starts for Drain the Clock, a son of Maclean’s Music who suffered his lone defeat when his rider fell off after the opening quarter-mile of the Jean Lafite Stakes at Delta Downs in his 2-year-old finale.

Drain the Clock completed seven furlongs over the fast track in 1:23.29 and paid $4.20.

Joseph said all the major 3-year-old preps, including the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth at 1 1/16 miles here on Feb. 27, would be under consideration for Drain the Clock’s next start.