Miles Ahead outfinishes Drain the Clock in Gulfstream Park Sprint
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Miles Ahead wore down heavily favored Drain the Clock as he continued his ascent into the upper ranks of older sprinters in a gutsy victory Saturday in the $150,000 Gulfstream Park Sprint.
Ridden by Paco Lopez, Miles Ahead sat two or three lengths off the early pace before setting off in hot pursuit of Drain the Clock, the 7-10 favorite who had gotten an ideal trip under Irad Ortiz Jr., having taken over for the tiring front-runners in the upper stretch.
Past the furlong pole, Drain the Clock drifted out slightly as Miles Ahead kept gaining to his outside, but it made no difference in the outcome as Miles Head prevailed by a neck, finishing six furlongs in 1:08.88 over a fast track. The winner returned $8.20 as second choice in a field of five older horses.
“My horse rated very well today,” said Lopez, who rode three other winners on a 12-race card. “He put me right in the race. I decided to follow [Drain the Clock] and it worked out.”
Miles Ahead is owned by David Melin, Leon Ellman, and Laurie Plesa. Gulfstream-based Eddie Plesa Jr. trains the 5-year-old Kentucky-bred gelding, now a winner of 11 races and $435,725 from 21 starts. The son of Competitive Edge has come a long way since winning his second start here in January 2020 in a $12,500 maiden-claiming race.
“He’s just gotten better and better,” said Plesa. “He’d been training so well that I thought it would take a really big effort for anything else to beat him. We’re very happy with him.”
Plesa said afterward he has no immediate plans for Miles Ahead. Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. had hoped this race would set up Drain the Clock for a run in the $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen on March 26.
Diamond Oops, making his first start in more than four months, was along late to be third, another 4 1/4 lengths behind Drain the Clock. Francatelli and Gatsby completed the order. Doc Amster was an early scratch.
The $2 exacta (4-6) paid $16.40, the $1 trifecta (4-6-5) returned $22.30, and the 10-cent superfecta (4-6-5-2) was worth $7.33.
This was the 42nd Gulfstream Sprint, which had been a graded event since 1996 before being downgraded for this year.