Beach Patrol has strong foe in Manhattan Stakes

ELMONT, N.Y. – Beach Patrol was champion older-male turf horse in the United States last year, but to win the Grade 1, $1 million Manhattan Stakes on Saturday at Belmont Park, he’ll have to do something that’s never happened – defeat Robert Bruce.

In six starts last year in Chile, including four Group 1 races, no horse came close to Robert Bruce, and a move to the Northern Hemisphere didn’t interrupt the pattern. Robert Bruce split horses a furlong from the finish and won the May 5 Fort Marcy Stakes at Belmont with a flourish, looking like still another star in the constellation of Chad Browntrained turf horses.

“This horse is a legitimate Grade 1 horse in America, in my opinion,” Brown said.

The 1 1/4-mile Manhattan drew a strong 13-horse field, including Hi Happy, winner of the Grade 1 Man o’ War here in his most recent start, and the two horses behind him, Grade 1 winner Sadler’s Joy and the admirable front-runner One Go All Go. Spring Quality, second to Robert Bruce in the Fort Marcy, also merits respect.

Brown, as so often happens in graded turf stakes, must run two capable horses in the same spot. It’s not a bad problem to have, and Beach Patrol and Robert Bruce should prove complementary pieces.

“They’re different types. Beach Patrol is a forwardly placed horse, a real stayer. Robert Bruce, judging by his first start here, is more a horse to rate off the pace and show a real good turn of foot,” Brown said.

Beach Patrol made his 5-year-old debut over a wet Churchill Downs course in the Old Forester Turf Classic, and as occurred before in 1 1/8-mile races, found one rival with superior acceleration – the very talented Yoshida, in this case. The longer Manhattan trip helps (Beach Patrol got hemmed in from an inside draw in this race last year, never getting a chance to run his race), but Beach Patrol, Brown acknowledged, might be at his very best going 1 1/2 miles.

Robert Bruce, who breaks from the rail under Tyler Gaffalione, won his only 1 1/4-mile start, a Group 1, by more than eight lengths.

“I think a mile and a quarter will really suit him, and he seems to be in really good form,” Brown said.

If Beach Patrol ultimately best fits 1 1/2-mile races, so do Hi Happy and Sadler’s Joy. Hi Happy, an Argentine import trained by Todd Pletcher, won the 12-furlong Pan American before a perfect-trip win here in the 11-furlong Man o’ War.

“If you wanted to run him Friday in the two-mile [Belmont Gold Cup] you probably could – he’s that type,” Pletcher said. “I do think he’s better at a mile and half, but he’s here, he’s won over the course, and it’s a million-dollar race.”

Sadler’s Joy closed three lengths on Hi Happy between the stretch call and the Man o’ War finish, flying his final furlong in 10.95 seconds. He was third in this race last year, but has done all his best work at 1 1/2 miles and has only one win from seven Belmont starts.

“We’re cutting back a little to what’s probably not his preferred distance, but last year he came within two lengths in this race,” trainer Tom Albertrani said. “He’s got a tremendous turn of foot. A strong pace would certainly suit him, but we haven’t seen strong paces in these distance races.”

The pace Saturday is unlikely to be fast, but some combination of One Go All Go, Beach Patrol, and Don Julio figure to go forward. Spring Quality, who has a wide post for the second start of his 6-year-old season, should wind up in the second flight making his second start of the year following his encouraging Fort Marcy run.

“We’ve been really patient with him through some niggling issues,” said trainer Graham Motion, who upset this race last year with Ascend. “I was really surprised he got beat the other day. This race has always been the goal. He’s more of a mile-and-a-quarter horse than a mile and an eighth. It’s a huge step, but I feel very confident in running.”

Motion might feel more confident if Brown wasn’t letting his two tigers out of their cages.