Brown has four, but there are plenty of possibilities in Manhattan

ELMONT, N.Y. – The Belmont Stakes comes with a Triple Crown halo and the Met Mile features an electric matchup between Flightline and Speaker’s Corner, but top to bottom there’s no better race Saturday at Belmont Park than the Grade 1, $750,000 Manhattan Stakes.

The 1 1/4-mile grass fixture drew 10 entrants: No standouts, plenty of plausible winners.

Future Hall of Famer Chad Brown trains four of those entrants, and Brown has won six of the last eight Manhattans. He might well win another, but Brown’s horses don’t come into this race with any discernible edge.

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Adhamo, a French import, has been aimed toward this race since he launched the North American phase of his career in February, finishing a tough-trip second in the Fair Grounds Stakes. Even before that race, Brown pegged Adhamo’s best trip at 1 1/4 miles, and after a pair of 1 1/8-mile starts, Adhamo finds the right distance. He enters following a flat run in the Grade 1 Old Forester Turf Classic on the Kentucky Derby undercard, but Adhamo clearly struggled with course conditions at Churchill.

“He miraculously ran third on a course he hated,” Brown said. “I was always pointing him here. The horse is training great.”

Flavien Prat rides Adhamo, whose best win in France came at the Group 3 level. Still just a 4-year-old, Adhamo lacks a brilliant turn of foot, but his long, sustained run should suit this course and race.

Tribhuvan set a strong pace and finished a commendable second behind stablemate Domestic Spending in the 2021 Manhattan. The Churchill course also ruined his chances in the Turf Classic, his 2022 debut, with speed horses like Tribhuvan fading throughout the cards of May 6 and May 7. Tribhuvan should improve considerably Saturday, but his peak performance could come next month in the United Nations Stakes, which the gelding won last summer.

Brown’s other two are L’Imperator, who relished a deep, laboring course winning the Fort Marcy here last month, and Rockemperor, who floundered in the same going and essentially was eased. Neither seems up to a top-two Manhattan placing.

The only trainer other than Brown with a Manhattan win the last eight years is Graham Motion, who went back-to-back with 27-1 Ascend and 18-1 Spring Quality in 2017 and 2018. Motion’s horse, Highland Chief, will be a shorter price Saturday than he was upsetting the Man o’ War Stakes at 18-1 on May 14. An English import making his third American start Saturday, Highland Chief merely shook off rust finishing ninth – a better-than-it-looks performance – in his 2022 debut, an allowance race far short of his best. His positional speed yielded a great trip in the Man o’ War, though to his credit he won going away after being challenged by proven Grade 1 performers Gufo and Yibir.

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“I didn’t really have a handle on him when I ran him in the Man o’ War, but I did think he was kind of overlooked in the race,” Motion said. “I’m a little worried about coming back in a month, but he’s just doing so well.”

Gufo, third in the 2021 Manhattan, is this year’s most likely winner. Unmistakable with his huge white face, Gufo turned in an encouraging Belmont turf breeze Sunday.

“I really, really, really liked his work yesterday,” trainer Christophe Clement said Monday morning. “His first race this year at Gulfstream was very good. The Man o’ War was not quite as good for some reason. But his work the other day was a better work than the one before the Man o’ War, so I’m excited.”

Gufo wore blinkers for four races following the 2021 Manhattan but has shed the equipment this season.

“He’s getting easier to ride. We took the blinkers off, and I think he’s been a touch more consistent that way,” Clement said.

The addition of blinkers propelled Santin to a career-best performance winning the Old Forester Turf Classic, but while trainer Brendan Walsh said he sees no reason Santin won’t stay 1 1/4 miles, the lightly raced 4-year-old never has been beyond 1 1/8 miles. A further concern: The Turf Classic was Santin’s third race of the year and his major early season goal, and he could take a step back Saturday.

Eight-year-old Channel Maker makes his fourth Manhattan appearance. He was eighth behind Spring Quality in 2018, beaten less than two lengths, and finished fourth in the 2019 and 2020 renewals. Channel Maker won the 1 1/2-mile Elkhorn at Keeneland in his 2022 debut, but trainer Bill Mott concedes that “a mile and a quarter has not been his best trip.”

In Love’s best races have come over one mile, but trainer Paulo Lobo said he’s excited to try 1 1/4 miles owing to In Love’s stamina-laden South American pedigree.

Cristian Demuro, the named rider on Japan-based longshot Tokyo Gold, was unable to travel and Jose Ortiz picks up that mount.

Is this the best Manhattan ever? No. But on a card with too many short fields, it’s worth a bet.