Slumber Rouses in the Manhattan Stakes
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Slumber caught the rest of the field napping in the $1 million Knob Creek Manhattan Stakes (gr. IT) at Belmont Park and kicked home to win in dramatic fashion by 2 3/4 lengths .
The 7-year-old son of Cacique—owned in partnership by Michael Dubb, Sheep Pond Partners, and Bethlehem Stables—has not won since August of 2013, but had placed second in two graded stakes earlier this year. Big Blue Kitten was second and Legendary was third by half a length. The final time was 2:01.23 over a turf course rated good
Slumber is trained by Chad Brown and was ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. He paid $30.20, $12.40, and $8.60. Big Blue Kitten paid $5.10 and $3.80, while Legendary paid $9.70. The $2 exacta was worth $146, and a $2 trifecta paid a stout $1,646.
"Both horses ran terrific," said Brown, who also trains Big Blue Kitten. "First, Big Blue Kitten didn't get the greatest of trips. He was out of position a little early, and then they went so slow. He was too far back, and they really weren't going to come back. The way the race set up, you needed to be midpack or better to really have any chance to win, and there just was no pace.
"Slumber on the other hand, we finally put some small blinkers on the horse. I had been tinkering with doing it since I started training the horse, but every time I ran him, he ran a good a sheet number and I was afraid to make too many changes. After his last start at Churchill— wide, and he didn't get the best trip and ran even again, I just thought 'Now's the time to try it.' It made all the difference. I thought Irad got beautiful position early, and really he was moving so comfortable halfway through the race he just needed a hole. He was a winner every step really," Brown said.
The winner was bred in Great Britain by Millsec Limited, a division of Prince Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte Farms. Slumber is out the unraced Woodman mare Sound Asleep. The horse is her first stakes winner out of six horses of racing age.