Road warrior Grandeur visits New York for Man o' War

ELMONT, N.Y. – He has played California and Chicago, Hong Kong and England. On Sunday, the Irish-bred Grandeur tries New York for the first time when he runs in the Grade 1, $400,000 Man o’ War Stakes at Belmont Park.

The Man o’ War is one of four stakes on a 10-race Mother’s Day program. The Man o’ War and the Grade 2, $250,000 Ruffian for fillies and mares will air live in a 90-minute broadcast on Fox Sports 1 [4:30 p.m. Eastern]. The Westchester, with only three rivals lined up against 2013 Belmont Stakes winner Palace Malice, will go as race 3 and air on tape. The $100,000 License Fee for filly-and-mare turf sprinters, also is on the card but won’t be telecast.

Grandeur, trained by Jeremy Noseda, is a nine-time winner, but his only two group or graded stakes victories have come in the United States. In 2012, he won the Twilight Derby at Santa Anita and the Hollywood Turf Cup at Hollywood Park – both Grade 2 events. He also finished second in that year’s Grade 1 Hollywood Derby.

Last summer, Grandeur shipped to the United States for the Arlington Million, in which he finished seventh, beaten 4 1/2 lengths. Later in the year, he finished seventh in the Hong Kong Cup, beaten three lengths.

“He’s a good traveler,” said assistant Wayne Tanner, who accompanied Grandeur here from Newmarket. “He enjoys going away, and the thing is, [for] geldings back home, there’s not that much money. If you got a horse that takes his shipping good, [the United States] is the place to come.”

Tanner said that depending how Grandeur does Sunday, he could stay for the $1 million Manhattan on June 7.

While Tanner said Grandeur likes firm ground, he said the condition of the Arlington turf last summer for the Million was too firm.

On Thursday, despite rainy conditions that forced all three scheduled turf races to the dirt, New York Racing Association officials permitted Grandeur to gallop over the Belmont turf course.

“We’d like to thank NYRA for allowing us on the turf,” Tanner said. “It was just an easy gallop to open his lungs up. The horse is fit. I think we’re right where we need him.”

Julien Leparoux will ride Grandeur for the first time from the rail.

Entered against him, from post 2 out, are Imagining, Vertiformer, Frac Daddy, Amira’s Prince, Real Solution, and Lucayan.