Fitriani Hay's Clock Tower (Not This Time), the 4-5 favorite, glided up and over from his outside post to take the early lead and never looked back in a wire-to-wire victory in the GIII Cecil B. DeMille Stakes at Del Mar Sunday. The dark bay gelding was in control through an opening quarter in :23.62 and was under a strong hold while getting a breather down the backstretch as the half went up in :48.75. Second choice Scipio (Caravaggio) made eye-catching progress on the turn and loomed a threat while rolling up four wide at the top of the lane, but Clock Tower had plenty left in the tank, easily turning back that foe and scampering clear to win by 2 1/2 lengths.
“Today when I got away with that second quarter [:25.13], I knew they were going to have a tough time catching us,” said winning rider John Velazquez. “Then, when I asked him, he went. He's turning into a good one.”
Blake Heap, assistant to winning trainer Wesley Ward, agreed pace had indeed made the race.
“Beautiful, perfect trip,” Heap said. “Kind of what we were hoping. There was really no speed, on paper anyway. When I saw the fractions, he almost went :49 for the half and he's been running :47 and still hanging pretty hard. He'd been training here so good, I really liked him.”
Clock Tower, third in his five-furlong debut over the main track at Churchill May 24, set the pace before settling for second in a one-mile off-turfer at Saratoga Aug. 10. He romped to a 6 1/2-length maiden victory while making his turf debut going one mile at Kentucky Downs Aug. 29 and set the pace before tiring to third in the 1 1/16-mile GII Bourbon Stakes at Keeneland Oct. 6 last time out.
“I rode this horse for his first two starts back east and you can see what a good job Wesley has done with him,” Velazquez said. “He's grown up; he's matured.”
Pedigree Notes:
Clock Tower is the 18th graded winner for Not This Time, whose other graded winners on turf include champion Up to the Mark and Cogburn.
Hot Stones, winner of the 2014 GIII Bed o' Roses Handicap, was purchased by Clarkland Farm for $250,000 while in foal to Tonalist at the 2016 Keeneland November sale. She has a yearling filly by Authentic, who sold for $80,000 to Barry Berkelhammer at the Keeneland September sale, and a weanling colt by Nyquist. She was bred to Omaha Beach this year.
Pouring it on! 🎙️
Clock Tower left plenty in the tank to pull away in the Grade III Cecil B DeMille Stakes with @ljlmvel up. pic.twitter.com/a8wS4u36X6
— Del Mar Racetrack (@DelMarRacing) December 1, 2024
Sunday, Del Mar
CECIL B. DEMILLE S.-GIII, $101,000, Del Mar, 12-1, 2yo, 1mT, 1:36.78, fm.
1–CLOCK TOWER, 120, g, 2, by Not This Time
1st Dam: Hot Stones (GSW, $521,356),
by Bustin Stones
2nd Dam: Steamed Up, by Freud
3rd Dam: Midnight Tank, by Tank's Prospect
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($100,000
Ylg '23 KEESEP). O-Mrs. Fitriani Hay; B-Clarkland Farm LLC (KY);
T-Wesley A. Ward; J-John R. Velazquez. $60,000. Lifetime
Record: 5-2-1-2, $225,938. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for
the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free
Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Scipio, 120, r, 2, Caravaggio–Soul Spirit, by Quality Road.
($60,000 2yo '24 OBSMAR). O-Calvin Nguyen and Joey C. Tran;
B-Don Alberto Corporation (KY); T-Richard Baltas. $20,000.
3–Origami (Ire), 117, f, 2, Sioux Nation–Saiddaa, by Hard Spun.
1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. (€10,500 Wlg '22
GOFNO1; €85,000 Ylg '23 GOFOR2). O-JWS Racing LLC, Jeff
Berk, David Grund and Amanda E. Oster; B-Myles Sunderland
(IRE); T-Jack Sisterson. $12,000.
Margins: 2HF, 1 1/4, NO. Odds: 0.90, 1.60, 6.70.
Also Ran: Game Warrior, Snowdonia, Prince Dolce, Lazlo. Scratched: Kale's Angel, Pali Kitten.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs.
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