HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The margin of victory may not have been nearly as far nor the final time quite as fast, but Greatest Honour’s 1 1/2-length decision over Drain the Clock in Saturday’s $300,000 Fountain of Youth was just as impressive, if not more so, as his decisive triumph here four weeks ago in the Grade 3 Holy Bull. The Grade 2 Fountain of Youth, which awards the top four finishers Kentucky Derby qualifying points on a 50-20-10-5 basis, brought the curtain down on an outstanding 14-race card at Gulfstream Park that included seven other graded stakes. Jockey Jose Ortiz was able to work out a near-perfect trip aboard Greatest Honour in the Holy Bull, the long-striding colt rallying to a one-sided 5 3/4-length victory over Tarantino for which he received an 89 Beyer Speed Figure. Things weren’t as easy, however, for Ortiz and Greatest Honour in the Fountain of Youth which, like the Holy Bull, was decided at 1 1/16 miles. :: Enhance your handicapping with DRF’s Gulfstream Park Clocker Report Greatest Honour broke a step slow and settled near the rear of the field as, to nobody’s surprise, Drain the Clock set the pace from along the rail. Greatest Honour raced along the inside down the backstretch and still did not appear to be gaining any ground while caught in behind several horses on the second bend. Ortiz was finally able to angle the even-money favorite to the extreme outside leaving the bend, at which point Greatest Honour finally settled into his powerful stride, finishing full of run down the center of the course, readily overtaking the tiring leader to win going away. Drain the Clock, making his first start beyond seven furlongs, set reasonable fractions: 23.66 seconds for the opening quarter and 47.18 to the half. He settled into the stretch with a clear lead, but proved no match for the winner while easily best of the others. Papetu ran past Greatest Honour while making a menacing run around the second turn, loomed a threat into the stretch, but could not sustain the bid. He finished third, two lengths behind Drain the Clock. Fire at Will, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner, was only a brief factor, falling back through the field to finish a distant and disappointing eighth in making his first start over a fast main track. Shug McGaughey trains Greatest Honour, a son of Tapit owned and bred by Courtlandt Farm. The winner completed the 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.02, nearly a second slower than he covered the same distance in the Holy Bull. He paid $4.00. “I think this was every bit as impressive as his last win," McGaughey said. "The pace wasn’t nearly as fast today and he was able to overcome it. "I wasn’t real comfortable watching the race, especially when the horse who finished second broke clear (on the lead). But I could see what was going on and I felt if he (Ortiz) could get him in the clear, we would have a shot to make a run at him. He’s now done twice down here in stakes what he doesn’t want to do, and that’s a mile and one sixteenth. He’s not quick, but he just covers so much ground with his stride, he got to that horse (Drain the Clock) pretty quickly at the end.” :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2021: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more Ortiz agreed that the Fountain of Youth did not play out as favorably for Greatest Honour as the Holy Bull had four weeks earlier, pace- and trip-wise. “Today the ground was slower and it would have been nicer if the pace had been a little faster like the Holy Bull,” Ortiz said. “And there was also a lot more kickback than the last time. They weren’t coming back to me like the last race, and he wasn’t gaining any ground on the turn. I was trying very hard to get him out, and when I finally got him into the clear, he hit another gear. It was beautiful.” Ortiz also said he’s glad the races will start to get longer for Greatest Honour as he continues on the Kentucky Derby trail. “I am so glad we’re done with the first wire,” Ortiz said, referring to the first finish line used in 1 1/16-mile races at Gulfstream Park. “The next time, when we hit the quarter pole, I’m going to have a lot more room to work with. I can ride him a little bit more patiently, which will help him a lot.”    Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said he was proud of Drain the Clock’s effort in defeat. “He ran huge, he ran like a winner,” Joseph said. “I didn’t even see the winner coming. We can’t be disappointed. It was the first time for him at the distance and he was beaten by a quality horse.”