Brown Starts Three in Bid for Sixth Manhattan Victory

Appropriately for a stakes race called the Manhattan, the race has been dominated in recent years by a native New Yorker, trainer Chad Brown.

The Mechanicville native and Saratoga Springs resident has won the Manhattan Stakes (G1T) five times in the past eight years and could add his sixth July 4 when he starts three horses—Devamani, Instilled Regard, and Rockemperor—in the $400,000 1 1/4-mile turf race at Belmont Park. The uncoupled trio will be well backed, and Instilled Regard might start as the favorite in the eight-horse field.

"They're all training well," Brown said. "They're all coming off good races, all three of them, and have a big shot in the race."

Five-year-old Instilled Regard, owned by Larry Best's OXO Equine, is the most well known. A dirt horse early in his career when trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, for whom he won the Lecomte Stakes (G3) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, the Arch horse has become a turf runner for Brown, winning the Ft. Lauderdale Stakes (G2T) Dec. 14 at Gulfstream Park and Fort Marcy Stakes (G2T) June 6 at Belmont. Between those starts, he ran third in the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes Presented by Runhappy (G1T) Jan. 25 at Gulfstream and sixth in the Muniz Memorial Classic Stakes (G2T) at Fair Grounds March 21.

He has raced mostly in shorter routes, only once racing 1 1/4 miles when a troubled fourth for Hollendorfer in the slop in the 2018 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), a race won by eventual Triple Crown winner Justify .

Brown has spotted him in races from a mile to 1 3/16 miles.

"To get the mile and a quarter, he's going to need firm ground to do it," Brown said. "But he's in really good form, and I think it's worth the shot to get him out to the mile and a quarter."

The Manhattan offers the right opportunity to try to pick up his first grade 1 victory. Of his seven rivals, only Sadler's Joy and Channel Maker have won at the highest level, and both are winless this year.

Instilled Regard has hit the board in three grade 1s, running second in the Los Alamitos Cash Call Futurity (G1) on dirt in 2017, third in the Hollywood Derby (G1T) in 2018, and third in the Pegasus Turf this year.

Irad Ortiz Jr. will ride.

Stablemates Devamani and Rockemperor are established at the 1 1/4-mile distance. Devamani, who rallied belatedly to be second to Instilled Regard in the Fort Marcy, won at the trip in May 2019 at Belmont, and Rockemperor did so on a synthetic surface in February 2019 in France. Rockemperor also ran third in the Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T) and Charles Whittingham Stakes (G2T) over 10 furlongs on turf in the U.S.

In the latter race at Santa Anita Park May 23, he crossed the wire in second, a nose behind California standout United, but was relegated to third for bumping another rival down the stretch.

John Velazquez will be aboard the son of Holy Roman Emperor owned by the partnership of Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb, Wonder Stables, Michael Kisber, and Bethlehem Stables.

Joel Rosario will return in the irons on Sanford Goldfarb and Samuel Abraham's Devamani, a 6-year-old gelded son of Dubawi.

Late-running Sadler's Joy, 0-for-3 since capturing the Red Smith Stakes (G3T) in November at Aqueduct Racetrack, must overcome an apparent lack of pace in the Manhattan under Javier Castellano.

The Woodslane Farm-owned Sadler's Joy has come close previously in this race, finishing second, a neck behind Spring Quality, as part of a blanket finish in 2018. The year before, the son of Kitten's Joy ran third, 1 1/2 lengths behind Ascend.

"I like the way he's coming into this race, and he's run well in this race twice before. So with him, it's all about getting the right trip, and hopefully he's up to it this year," trainer Tom Albertrani said. 

Sadler's Joy won the Sword Dancer Stakes (G1T) at Saratoga Race Course in August 2017. Two-for-17 since, he is usually most effective in marathon turf races.

Cross Border, Dot Matrix, and Spooky Channel round out the lineup for the Manhattan, which goes at 6:20 p.m. ET as the 10th of 11 races on the five-stakes program.

Entries: Manhattan S. (G1T)

Belmont Park, Saturday, July 04, 2020, Race 10

• Grade I
• 1 1/4m
• Inner turf
• $400,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 6:20 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Instilled Regard (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	118	Chad C. Brown	2/1
2	2Rockemperor (IRE)	John R. Velazquez	118	Chad C. Brown	5/1
3	3Cross Border (NY)	Jose L. Ortiz	118	Michael J. Maker	10/1
4	4Sadler's Joy (KY)	Javier Castellano	118	Thomas Albertrani	7/2
5	5Devamani (FR)	Joel Rosario	118	Chad C. Brown	9/2
6	6Channel Maker (ON)	Manuel Franco	122	William I. Mott	10/1
7	7Dot Matrix (NY)	Florent Geroux	118	Brad H. Cox	6/1
8	8Spooky Channel (KY)	Julien R. Leparoux	118	Brian A. Lynch	15/1