Drain the Clock preps for Dubai in Gulfstream Park Sprint

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Next stop, Dubai – but first, a critical stepping-stone must be successfully negotiated by Drain the Clock.

“We’d love to see him earn his way over there,” said Saffie Joseph Jr., who will saddle Drain the Clock as a solid favorite Saturday in the $150,000 Gulfstream Park Sprint. “He’s been training lights-out, so we’re excited to have him take this next step.”

With Irad Ortiz Jr. riding, Drain the Clock will face no more than five other older horses on Saturday. He breaks from the outside post as the 8-5 program choice in the six-furlong Gulfstream Sprint, which anchors a 12-race card that starts at noon Eastern.

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Joseph is using the Gulfstream Sprint as a prep for the $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen at Meydan on March 26.

“We’ve thought about the Carter,” a Grade 1 race set for April 9 at Aqueduct, he said, “but if he runs as well as we hope in this race Saturday, we will more than likely send him overseas.”

Bred by Nick Cosato, whose Slam Dunk Racing now races the Maclean’s Music colt with three other entities, Drain the Clock has been a star in the making ever since he won his debut by six lengths here in September 2020. The pinnacle of his first 11 starts was reached last June when he wore down Jackie’s Warrior, the eventual sprint champion of 2021, in winning the Grade 1 Woody Stephens on the Belmont Stakes undercard.

“That was a big thing for us,” said Joseph.

Following the Woody Stephens, Drain the Clock went to Saratoga to finish second in the Grade 2 Amsterdam and fourth in the Grade 1 Allen Jerkens, both won by Jackie’s Warrior. He then got a 3 1/2-month break before returning with a win in a rare dip into the allowance ranks here Dec. 10.

“Obviously it was a good 3-year-old year, but I do think he can be even better this year,” said Joseph. “He’s filled out and gotten stronger.”

The December comeback came at the expense of Gatsby (post 1, Javier Castellano), one of his Saturday opponents, who returned five weeks later to win the restricted Sunshine Sprint with an eye-catching 103 Beyer Speed Figure. The 4-year-old Arindel homebred is trained by Carlos David.

One key in handicapping this race is the status of Diamond Oops (post 5, Romero Maragh), who also was entered by trainer Patrick Biancone in the $100,000 Turf Sprint at Tampa Bay Downs. As of Thursday morning, no decision had been announced by Biancone as to where the versatile 7-year-old gelding will run.

Either way, Diamond Oops will be returning from a four-month-plus layoff after ending 2021 with an eighth-place finish in the Grade 1 Keeneland Turf Mile. Duly regrouped at the Palm Meadows training center, Diamond Oops shows four works since mid-January. A Grade 2 winner on both dirt and turf, he has earned $1,364,483 from 23 well-spaced starts.

“We run him when he’s ready to perform and then we give him time,” said Biancone. “When he doesn’t perform up to what he should do, we give him a vacation. We let him be a horse, and we’re rewarded because of that.”

Rounding out the lineup are Francatelli, Doc Amster, and Miles Ahead. Of those, maybe Miles Ahead (post 4, Paco Lopez) rates the best upset chance with his 17-9-3-1 record over the Gulfstream main track, which can be expected to be fast Saturday.

The Gulfstream Sprint goes as the 11th race, with post time set for 5:10. It’s part of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 (races 7-12). A gross pool guarantee of $1 million can be expected for Saturday, assuming the jackpot is not swept by a solo winner Thursday or Friday.

This is the 42nd Gulfstream Sprint, which has been won through the years by such standouts as Dancing Spree (1990), Cherokee Run (1995), Commentator (2008), and Munnings (2010). It’s the lone stakes here this weekend, just as there’s just one stakes next Saturday, too, the Grade 3 Royal Delta featuring the 6-year-old debut of Letruska. The following Saturday (March 5) is Fountain of Youth Day.