Chad Brown foursome seeks improvement in G1 Manhattan

Nine top U.S. grass runners, four of them from Chad Brown's seemingly bottomless reservoir of turf talent, are set to take on one frequent flyer visitor in the Resorts World Casino Manhattan Stakes (G1) June 11 at Belmont Park.

The 1 1/4-mile Manhattan is slated just one race before the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) on a program that includes nine stakes, eight of them grade 1 and two of them Breeders' Cup Challenge events.

The runner from across the water is Tokyo Gold  -- not from across the Pacific, despite his name and ownership, but from Europe. The 4-year-old Kendargent  colt is no stranger to New York. He finished second behind Bolshoi Ballet  in the 2021 Belmont Derby Invitational (G1T) and fifth two months later in the Jockey Club Derby Invitational, won by eventual Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) winner Yibir .

Tokyo Gold was bred by his owner, Japanese racing kingpin Teruya Yoshida. He showed his mettle with a victory just more than a year ago in the Derby Italiano Universita Campus Bio-Medico de Roma (G2) in Rome and finished third in his 2022 debut in the Prix Jacques Laffitte at Longchamp in Paris. Cristian Demuro is due in to ride the colt.

Brown's quartet comprises Rockemperor , Tribhuvan , Adhamo,  and L'Imperator . Despite the trainer's prowess in the division, of the four only L'Imperator enters the Manhattan off a win -- that a front-running victory in the Fort Marcy Stakes (G2T) over the Belmont grass May 7. That aside, the quartet has seen little success in the win column in recent months.

Tribhuvan was second in the 2021 Manhattan, beaten by his stablemate Domestic Spending , with Gufo  third and Rockemperor fifth.

Brown said Rockemperor, Adhamo and Tribhuvan all were compromised by the ground in recent starts and summed it up with a comment on Adhamo's third-place finish in the Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic (G1T) at Churchill Downs.

"He just didn't like the turf that day, and if they don't like the ground, they're not going to run. It was just that simple. I think he's going to take to Belmont well and run well," Brown said.

While three of the Brown runners have been struggling, the remainder of the field enters the Manhattan with some sparkling recent accomplishments.

Gufo returns fresh from a second-place finish in the Man o' War Stakes (G1T) May 14 at Belmont. Five weeks earlier, the Christophe Clement trainee won the Pan American Stakes Presented by Rood & Riddle (G2T) at Gulfstream Park. Clement said the cutback to the 1 1/4-mile trip shouldn't be an issue.

"I'm excited to see him again. It's all good," Clement said of the 2020 Belmont Derby winner. "I don't think the cutback is a bother to him. A mile and a quarter to a mile and a half is good for him."

Highland Chief , the upset winner in the Man o' War, is back in action for his third U.S. start for trainer Graham Motion. He formerly raced in England, where he won a handicap at Ascot before running 10th in the 2020 Investec Derby (G1), and Motion said his Man o' War score shouldn't have been a big shock.

"If you go back through his form lines, it's not that crazy he was able to pull that off, based on his Ascot form," Motion said. "He was a solid enough horse before he came to me and then he had throat surgery before he came to me, which probably helped."

Santin , a Godolphin homebred trained by Brendan Walsh, has made steady progress through the winner, peaking with a victory in his latest outing, the Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic (G1) at Churchill Downs -- the turf companion to the Run for the Roses.

Channel Maker  finished fourth in 2019 and 2020 but missed the 2021 Manhattan after an early-year trip to Saudi Arabia and Dubai. He returns in good order off a win in the Elkhorn Stakes (G2) at Keeneland April 23.

"I've had some nice older horses before, but he's been a real warrior," trainer Bill Mott said of the 8-year-old English Channel gelding. "He's made $3.5 million. He's a good old gelding and he's run in a lot of stakes. It's amazing."

Entries: Resorts World Casino Manhattan S. (G1T)

Belmont Park, Saturday, June 11, 2022, Race 10

• Grade I
• 1 1/4m
• Inner turf
• $750,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 5:38 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1L'Imperator (FR)	Eric Cancel	118	Chad C. Brown	15/1
2	2Gufo (KY)	Joel Rosario	122	Christophe Clement	3/1
3	3Tokyo Gold (FR)	Cristian Demuro	122	Satoshi Kobayashi	30/1
4	4Adhamo (IRE)	Flavien Prat	118	Chad C. Brown	4/1
5	5In Love (BRZ)	Alex Achard	124	Paulo H. Lobo	15/1
6	6Rockemperor (IRE)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	122	Chad C. Brown	10/1
7	7Tribhuvan (FR)	Manuel Franco	122	Chad C. Brown	8/1
8	8Highland Chief (IRE)	Trevor McCarthy	122	H. Graham Motion	6/1
9	9Santin (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	124	Brendan P. Walsh	7/2
10	10Channel Maker (ON)	Luis Saez	122	William I. Mott	8/1