Veteran Red Knight Aims for More Success in Manhattan

It's not every day that a horse reaches new heights as a 9-year-old but that's the case with Red Knight , who could put himself at the top of the pecking order of North America's male turf division with a win in the $750,000 Manhattan Stakes (G1T) June 10 on the inner turf at Belmont Park.

The 1 1/4-mile race for older horses will be contested as race 11 on the card, one race before the featured Belmont Stakes (G1). It is scheduled to start at about 5:54 p.m.

In a male turf division yet to see much consistent form this season, Red Knight grabbed attention with his clear victory in the 1 3/8-mile Man o' War Stakes (G1T) May 13 at Belmont—winning at the top level for the first time in his seven seasons of racing. That effort by the New York-bred son of Pure Prize followed his close runner-up finish in the Elkhorn Stakes (G2T) at Keeneland and his season-opening score in the William L. McKnight Stakes (G3T) at Gulfstream Park.

Since being transferred to trainer Mike Maker prior to his 2022 season, the earner of $1,717,763 has won four of seven starts, all in stakes company.

"He's doing super," Maker said. "He's stronger than jailhouse coffee. I'd like him to get a ground-saving trip and fire home like he normally does."

While Red Knight cuts back in distance by a furlong, one of his expected chief rivals, Up to the Mark , will stretch out that same distance after winning the 1 1/8-mile Turf Classic Stakes (G1T) May 6 at Churchill Downs. The son of Not This Time   entered that test off a third-place finish in the Maker's Mark Mile Stakes (G1T) April 14 at Keeneland.

"He gives us the impression that he'll handle the stretch out in distance," said trainer Todd Pletcher, who will try to land his first Manhattan victory. "He relaxed very well last time going a mile and an eighth. He came with a good turn-of-foot. He's got to go out there and prove it, but I love how he's been doing since we got him on the grass. We just felt like he was underachieving on the dirt. We felt that his first turf race was a 'wow' race and he figured out what he wanted."

A pair of Godolphin runners trained by Charlie Appleby also are entered in the expected field of 10. In his United States debut in the Man o' War, stakes winner Warren Point  led in the stretch despite an awkward start but faded to fifth. Ottoman Fleet , entered off a group 3 score in England, fared better in his U.S. debut, winning the Fort Marcy Stakes (G2T) May 6 on Belmont's inner turf.

"Ottoman Fleet is loving everything about being at Belmont and is in top form," Appleby said. "One thing about him is that he's done it at the group level, whereas Warren Point, at the end of the day, still has to prove it at that level and is just a listed winner."