This Ones for Phil wins Swale via DQ

There was little room to spare between Big Drama (inside) and This Ones for Phil (Courtesy of Adam Coglianese)

THIS ONES FOR PHIL (Untuttable) came up a half-length short at the finish
line in Saturday’s $150,000
Swale S.
(G2), but the three-year-old gelding emerged the winner as the stewards
disqualified Big Drama (Montbrook) for coming out and bumping in the stretch.

It was a dynamite stretch duel, with Big Drama fighting bitterly to hold off
his rival along the inside, and the final time of 1:20.88 established a new
track record for seven furlongs. This Ones for Phil, who opened 2009 with a victory in
the Sunshine Millions Dash and was exiting a fifth in the Fountain of Youth S.
(G2), garnered his first graded victory, improving his overall mark to 11-4-1-1,
$325,340.

Big Drama showed speed from his outside post and reached the quarter-mile
point with a head advantage in :23. This Ones for Phil settled into a stalking
position down the backstretch and was a length back in second through a
half-mile in :45. He angled three wide for the stretch run and had cut the
deficit to only a head as Big Drama hit the three-quarters in 1:08 1/5. The
pacesetter dug in gamely, but he drifted out twice during the final furlong,
brushing slightly against his rival the first time before making hard contact in
the final jumps. The stewards deliberated for a while before making the decision
to disqualify.

Big Drama set a track record but lost the victory (Courtesy of Adam Coglianese)

“What I saw was a new track record and I got taken down,” Big Drama’s
trainer, David Fawkes, said. “Should he have stayed up? I don’t know. I have to
watch it again.”

Owned by Paul Pompa Jr., Jack Mandato and Michael Dubb, the Richard
Dutrow-trained winner
returned $5.20, $3 and $2.40 as the 8-5 favorite. Big Drama, the 9-5 second
choice, wound up five lengths clear of third and paid $3 and $2.20. Custom for
Carlos (More Than Ready) completed the trifecta at nearly 6-1 and gave back
$2.80. The exotics yielded $15 (exacta), $51.60 (trifecta) and $90.40 (1-6-4-5
superfecta). Brave Victory (Lion Heart), Sabi Sabi (Songandaprayer) and B Z
Warrior (Malibu Moon) rounded out the order of finish.