Ironicus might give 1 1/4 miles a try in Manhattan

ELMONT, N.Y. – Ironicus, the winner of the Grade 3 Fort Marcy Stakes at Belmont last Saturday, could make his next start in the Grade 1, $1 million Manhattan Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on June 11, trainer Shug McGaughey said.

Ironicus returned from a seven-month layoff to win the Fort Marcy by 1 1/2 lengths over a yielding turf course. He covered 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.82 and earned a 100 Beyer Speed Figure.

That was the first race for Ironicus at 1 1/8 miles, and the Manhattan would be his first try at 1 1/4 miles.

“We’ve always wanted to run him a little bit farther,” McGaughey said. “I’m not going to run a mile and a half, but if he comes out of it well, we’ll have to take a look at the Manhattan.”

McGaughey said that following the Manhattan, he would have plenty of time to back down Ironicus to shorter distances for the graded stakes at Saratoga, such as the Fourstardave, at a mile, and the Bernard Baruch, a 1 1/16-mile race in which Ironicus set a course record last year.