By George gets chance to show what he's got in Swale

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – In the beginning, when the Kentucky Derby trail had yet to morph into what it is today, the Swale Stakes was a key stepping-stone toward longer Derby preps. Major Derby hopefuls Chief’s Crown (1985), Easy Goer (1989), and Favorite Trick (1998) were among the winners of early renewals of the seven-furlong Swale.

Changes in training philosophies and other factors, however, have rendered the Swale more a prelude toward something like the Pat Day Mile or Woody Stephens than the Derby. In fact, its Gulfstream Park counterpart, the seven-furlong Forward Gal for fillies, has assumed greater importance in the context of a classics prep, as it offers qualifying points (10-4-2-1) toward the Kentucky Oaks while the Swale gets bupkus in that department.

The Swale and Forward Gal, both Grade 3 events with $100,000 purses, will be renewed here Saturday as part of an action-packed Holy Bull card. Here’s a quick rundown:

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Swale (race 6)

Christophe Clement is best known for his prowess with turf runners, but he appears to have a 3-year-old here with plenty of upside on dirt, particularly given the colt’s pedigree – by the red-hot Into Mischief – and the way he whistled last month at Aqueduct in his career debut.

Indeed, it’s the Clement-trained By George (post 6, Irad Ortiz Jr.) who might well be locking horns at a critical point of the 34th Swale with Drain the Clock, the likely favorite in a field of six colts and geldings. By George, owned in part by Claiborne Farm, earned an 81 Beyer Speed Figure in his Dec. 19 bow, compared to the 85 peak earned by Drain the Clock here four Saturdays ago in his 7 1/2-length romp in the Limehouse at six furlongs.

Drain the Clock (post 5, Edgard Zayas), a tractable Maclean’s Music colt trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., has been favored in all four career starts – and he has come through in three of them, with his only loss coming in late November at Delta Downs, where he lost his jockey in mid-race because of faulty equipment.

The two favorites figure to sit poised behind Poppy’s Pride (post 4, Jesus Rios), a speedy Florida-bred who led gate to wire in his latest start, the Dec. 5 Inaugural at Tampa Bay Downs, when upping his record to 4 for 6.

Todd Pletcher, who has at least one entry in all five stakes here Saturday, is represented in the Swale by Likeable (post 1, Luis Saez), who has not raced since finishing 13th in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile nearly three months ago.

The Swale goes at 2:10 p.m. Eastern.

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Forward Gal (race 9)

Pletcher, a three-time winner of the Kentucky Oaks, has an obvious contender here in Zaajel, whose 7 1/4-length debut romp here last month already has her being mentioned as a possibility toward the April 30 Oaks. Zaajel, a Shadwell Stable homebred by Street Sense, will have Luis Saez aboard when she breaks from post 7 in a field of eight.

“She was very impressive in her debut, and she’s trained great since then,” Pletcher said. “Ideally, I’d kind of like to run her in an allowance race, but we don’t really have that option at the moment. Considering how well she ran at the distance and over the surface here, we’ll give it a try. The seven furlongs was no problem in her debut.”

Competitive Speed (post 3, Leonel Reyes) is among the chief threats to Zaajel, having climbed the class ladder in winning her last three starts, ending with a three-length score in the Glitter Woman here Jan. 2.

“She’s always doing better every day, and that’s happened from the very first day that she came to the barn,” said her trainer, Javier Gonzalez. “Whatever we ask her to do, she did better. She’s passed every test.

“This is going to be a big test, but I think she can make it. She’s doing good, and she is one of those horses that is never going to make you look bad. I think she’s going to run a very good race.”

Outside possibilities in the 39th Forward Gal include a pair of last-out maiden winners, Three Tipsy Chix (post 2, Julien Leparoux) and Coach Jer’s Joy (post 8, Irad Ortiz Jr.).

The Forward Gal, named for the 2-year-old filly champion of 1970, leads off the late pick four (races 9-12) at 3:46. It’s a lead-in to the Feb. 27 Davona Dale, a one-mile race expected to get two of the current divisional leaders, Vequist and Dayoutoftheoffice, with 85 Oaks points (50-20-10-5) at stake.