Wake Forest could give connections a Manhattan double

Trainer Chad Brown and the ownership group of Michael Dubb, Sol Kumin’s Sheep Pond Partners, and the Bethlehem Stables of Gary Aisquith and Michael Caruso, could go for a Manhattan double with Wake Forest, winner of Saturday’s Grade 1, $400,000 Man o’ War.

Those connections won the Manhattan last year with Slumber, who also will be under consideration for this year’s Manhattan following his third-place finish in the Grade 1 Woodford Reserve at Churchill Downs on May 7.

In the Man o’ War, Wake Forest showed an exhilarating turn of foot under John Velazquez when he got clear in the final furlong and ran by four horses, including stablemate Money Multiplier, beating him by three-quarters of a length.

“Given the dynamics of the race, and seemingly hopelessly beaten, that closing kick was breathtaking for me,” Dubb said Sunday. “We’re excited; over the moon.”

Saturday, after the race, Brown said that he would look over his stable of marathon turf horses for the Manhattan but said Wake Forest was “at the top of the list” of horses he would consider for the $1 million race.

Last year, Brown ran three in the Manhattan and finished one-two with Slumber and Big Blue Kitten.

Wake Forest earned a 101 Beyer Speed Figure for his Man o’ War performance.