Brown, Appleby Loaded With G1 Talent in Manhattan

Once again the Manhattan Stakes (G1T) honors its rich history with five grade/group 1 winners highlighting a field of nine contenders in the $1 million, 1 3/16-mile test June 8 on Saratoga Race Course's Mellon turf course.

The field includes three-time grade 1 winner Program Trading  from the powerful owner-trainer combination of Klaravich Stables and Chad Brown, and Godolphin homebred and multiple grade 1 winner Nations Pride  out of the top international stable of Charlie Appleby.

Brown owns the most Manhattan wins by a trainer with eight, which includes four consecutive wins in 2019-22. Program Trading is this year's 5-2 morning-line favorite after consecutive wins in the Turf Classic Stakes (G1T) May 4 at Churchill Downs and the Dec. 2 Hollywood Derby (G1T) at Del Mar. In the Turf Classic the 4-year-old son of Lope de Vega beat Godolphin's Naval Power  by a head.

"It was a very big effort off the layoff last time," Brown said. "The only thing I thought would get him beat was that he was off for so long, and the fact that he was able to save ground there really made the difference. He had been training very well. Obviously, his second race off a layoff—where he ran that big first up can be concerning from a handicapping angle—you could be worried about a soft bounce, but I haven't seen anything in his training where I would be concerned. I've seen the horse really come out of his race in good shape." 

Program Trading, who has five wins and a second from six lifetime starts, will break from post 5 and be ridden by Flavien Prat. 

Brown also will saddle grade 2 winner I'm Very Busy  in the Manhattan. The 4-year-old son of Cloud Computing   was unplaced in the Turf Classic in his most recent start, but prior to that race won the Muniz Memorial Classic Stakes (G2T) and was runner-up in the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes (G1T). He will break from post 1 with Irad Ortiz Jr.

Appleby and Godolphin have been a force worldwide since he became Sheikh Mohammed's head trainer in 2013. He's saddled 10 Breeders' Cup World Championships winners, won the first Epsom Derby (G1) for Godolphin with Masar  in 2018 and in the same year won the Melbourne Cup (G1) with Cross Counter . In 2021, he won 17 grade/group 1 races and was named the United Kingdom's champion flat trainer for the first time. 

This year Appleby hand-picked a group of runners, likely to peak at around 20, to be based at Godolphin's Greentree training center in Saratoga. 

Nations Pride, at 9-2 in the morning line, already has a successful record in New York. The son of Teofilo  won the Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T) and Jockey Club Derby Invitational Stakes (G3T), both in 2022. He comes into the Manhattan off a third-place finish in the May 11 Man o' War Stakes (G2T) at Aqueduct Racetrack. The 5-year-old has post 7 and will be ridden by Frankie Dettori.

"Nations Pride ran a good, solid race in his last start there in the Man o' War," Appleby said. "He will definitely come forward." 

Chris Connett, assistant and head traveling lad for Appleby, has been pleased with how Nations Pride has progressed: "He has been off the track for a long time before his last start at Aqueduct and he's come forward from that fitness-wise. Hopefully, we can keep the freshness out of him. He's matured and filled out. He's not a massive horse, but he's quality. He's proven in America that he can handle the track and is of a very high standard."

Godolphin and Appleby have a second Manhattan starter with Measured Time , a 4-year-old son of Frankel   who is the 7-2 morning-line second choice. To be ridden from post 9 by William Buick, Measured Time will be making his U.S. debut. He has been out of the money only once during seven career starts, and that was a fourth-place finish last out in the March 30 Dubai Turf (G1T). At the beginning of the year, he captured the Jebel Hatta (G1T) at Meydan Racecourse.

"He's shipped over very well. The older and more mature he gets, he seems to take his traveling really well," Connett said. "His (work) rider Michael Metcalf has been happy with him since he settled in and the horse has taken in his surroundings very well. I think good, safe ground is what we prefer. Obviously, Charlie picks out the team to come, and more often than not, you get quicker ground in America than we do back home. I think that says it all when you look at the team he's sent over."