French-bred Tribhuvan – one of four Chad Brown entries in a field of 10 older turf specialists – went to the front at the start under Manny Franco and led throughout en route to a 3 1/2-length victory in Saturday's Grade 1, $750,000 Manhattan on the Belmont Stakes undercard at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.
Adhamo, another from the Brown stable, finished second, with 2-1 favorite Gufo rallying for third and Highland Chief fourth. Rockemperor, Santin, L'Imperator, In Love, Channel Maker and Tokyo Gold completed the order of finish.
Tribhuvan paid $40.20 after covering 1 1/4 miles on the firm inner turf course in 1:59.54. He set fractions of :24.78, :49.65, 1:13.24 and 1:36.18. The The 6-year-old gelding by the High Chaparral stallion Toronado, is owned by Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables LLC, Wonder Stables and Michael J. Caruso. He was winning for the sixth time in 23 career starts and is 4-for-10 since arriving in the U.S. from his native France.
A dyed-in-the-wool front-runner, Tribhuvan's dash to the lead was made all the easier when Channel Maker, another speed type, broke very slowly from the outside post and was no factor throughout.
This was four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brown's eighth Manhattan win and fourth in a row. Tribhuvan gave Brown a 1-2 finish in the 2021 renewal when he was overhauled in the final furlong by Domestic Spending to finish second.
“At Belmont Park, leave me out at your own risk,” the trainer told NBC's Kenny Rice after the victory. “This is my turf course here.”
Brown praised Franco for his ride, saying of Trihuvan, “He's better when he's completely loose (on the lead) and not around any horses.”
“I knew I was the only speed in the race,” Franco said. “I just wanted to make sure I broke good and put my horse on the lead. I was really comfortable with the way I was traveling and didn't want anyone to close to me and the horse responded really well. [This win] means a lot. Every Grade 1 is nice and I'm just glad to be part of it.”
This edition of the Manhattan came up strong, with seven of the runners having previously won at the Grade 1 level. Gufo won the Belmont Derby and Sword Dancer; In Love the Keeneland Turf Mile; Rockemperor the Turf Classic Invitational; Highland Chief the Man o' War in his last start; Santin the Turf Classic at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby in his last start; and Channel Maker the Sword Dancer and Turf Classic.
Tribhuvan, whose previous G1 win was in the 2021 United Nations at Monmouth Park, set the pace in Santin's Turf Classic but tired in the stretch to be fifth, beaten 10 lengths, in his 2022 debut. He similarly tired to 13th in his final 2021 outing in the G1 Breeders' Cup Turf won by Yibir.
“The turf course at Churchill that day just didn't suit the horse,” Brown said of Tribhuvan's prior start.
In the Manhattan, Franco secured an easy lead, with Tokyo Gold his closest pursuer rounding into the first turn. His second quarter mile of :24.87 was slightly slower than the opening quarter in :24.78, but he picked it up with a third quarter in :23.59 and a fourth quarter mile in a quick :22.94. As Tribhuvan increased his speed, he gradually opened up on the field, leading by five or six lengths down the backstretch, and no one ever mounted a challenge after that with a final quarter mile of :23.36.
“I was yelling from the box seats, 'Open up, open up,'” Brown said. “I know 49 [seconds for the half-mile] looks all cozy and all but I want this horse completely away from everyone else. He runs best that way.”
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