Brown well armed in pursuit of fifth Manhattan win

ELMONT, N. Y. – Four times trainer Chad Brown has won the Grade 1, $1 million Manhattan Stakes and he has four chances to win a fifth Saturday at Belmont Park.

Two-fifths of the 10-horse Manhattan, a 1 1/4-mile grass race, will walk over to the paddock from Brown’s Belmont barn and regardless of who heads that parade it’s Bricks and Mortar who heads the betting. Bricks and Mortar is 7-5 on the Belmont morning line and regarded as one of the top horses – not just turf horses – in North America.

Already he has put together an outstanding season, returning from an injury layoff in an allowance prep Dec. 22 that set him up to win the inaugural edition of the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf. Bricks and Mortar got away with an off day in an off-kilter renewal of the Muniz Memorial at Fair Grounds, barely beating an inferior rival, but was back on top his game May 4, swooping down on Qurbaan in the final furlong to win the Grade 1 Turf Classic at Churchill Downs by a half-length.

That’s a lot of strong work less than halfway into 2019, and cold-hearted gamblers should wonder if, just maybe, it’s too much.

“That’s crossed my mind,” Brown said earlier this week. “He got started earlier than most of my horses.”

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Part of the reason Brown has targeted the earlier part of the year is the lack of top-level opportunities in Bricks and Mortar’s sweet spot between one mile and 1 1/4 miles. After the Arlington Million in August, the cupboard is bare.

Bricks and Mortar will have Irad Ortiz in the irons for his first start in a race this long. He breaks from post 8 – and is not unopposable.

Robert Bruce finished a mildly troubled and close sixth in this race last year and later won the Arlington Million over this 1 1/4-mile trip. He’s caught wet turf his last three starts and Robert Bruce requires firmer footing for a representative performance.

“I won’t run him on soft again,” Brown said.

Soft ground undid Robert Bruce on May 4 in the Fort Marcy Stakes, and because of bad weather he also missed his final work for that race, his first start since November.

While Robert Bruce floundered in the Fort Marcy, Olympico powered through the sodden sod, winning his U.S. debut by three lengths, eased up before the wire at odds of 18-1, a crazy high price for a Brown turf horse. The 4-year-old French import never sniffed top-level competition overseas and clearly goes well on wet, but Olympico’s Fort Marcy might not have been a fluke, and under the Manhattan’s allowance conditions, he carries 116 pounds, eight fewer than Bricks and Mortar.

“I’m optimistic he can be effective on both types of ground because he works really well on firm,” said Brown. “I know his form looks a little weird, but he’s improved, and this horse, I could see him.”

Raging Bull, also looking for firm going, will race for the first time with Javier Castellano on his back and blinkers fitted over his eyes. Brown is looking for a more focused effort.

“He hasn’t performed like we hoped the first two times this year, so now’s the time to try that,” Brown said.

Qurbaan raced in blinkers for the first time when Bricks and Mortar flashed past him in the Turf Classic, though Qurbaan galloped out with the winner after being caught flat-footed the final half-furlong. That was two times in a row Qurbaan lost a late lead in a Grade 1 race, and after wining his U.S. debut in the Grade 2 Bernard Baruch last summer by a nose, Qurbaan has taken a series of tough losses.

“We don’t want to get there too soon with him, and that’s why we put the blinkers on, small cups to help him focus,” trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said. “He ran huge and we’re getting two more pounds from Bricks and Mortar. The 10 furlongs, we don’t think that’s a negative.”

The distance is at least a slight negative for Channel Maker, who won the 1 3/8-mile Man o’ War on May 11 and might need a trip that long for his best.

“I’d prefer to keep him at the same distance and have more time, but he’s doing well and opportunities like this don’t come around all that often,” said trainer Bill Mott.

A win by Catcho En Die, Channel Cat, Bandua, or Epical would come as a major surprise.

A fifth Manhattan for Brown would not.