Manhattan Dan to miss Ascot

Manhattan Dan, the 3-year-old multiple turf-sprint stakes winner, injured an ankle this week and won’t make a scheduled trip to Royal Ascot, trainer Gary Contessa said Friday.

Contessa said Manhattan Dan will miss the summer races, and he hopes the horse can return by late fall or early winter. Manhattan Dan worked five furlongs in 59.60 seconds Sunday over the Belmont Park training track. On Tuesday, he had galloped on the training track and was standing quietly when a horse got loose on the other side of the track. Manhattan Dan acted up a little bit, and when he came off the track, he was “a tick off,” Contessa said.

“It’s going to stop us,” Contessa said. “We needed everything to go perfect.”

Manhattan Dan, a son of Big Brown, is 2 for 2 this year, winning the Texas Glitter and Fisher Island stakes, both at Gulfstream Park.