The Manhattan (Grade 1)- $750.000 Purse
BEL- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Quarter on the Inner Turf
June 5, 2021
Dead Madness is a horse that has accomplished a lot over his career, and that includes winning the BC Turf. However, recently, his performances have been underwhelming and for a five year old gelding, that can be concerning. Bettors seemed to think there would be more of the same, rather than a blast from the past as Dead Madness went off at 32/1. He was among our picks, being our third choice, as this is a horse that had run well at BEL over his career. On Saturday, Dead Madness gave us a reminder of his ability, and put to bed any concerns that he might be losing it by winning The Manhattan. Enjoying the victory is John Henry, who wins for the first time in this stake, as does jockey S R Bahen. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:58.34, which is very similar to other recent winning times. Let’s take a look!
(½ Mile- :47.87)- Three horses break quickly out of the gate, and they seem to go back and forth with the race lead as we go down the frontstretch and around the opening turn. This three wide battle continues for the first half mile, and at this point it is Immoral, trained by Mb Stables, with a half length lead over Winchester, out of Fractious, who was running to his inside. That one was slightly ahead of the third place Silent Commander, who was on the rail for Serenity Stables. Behind them, there’s a group of three horses and with the edge here, it was Hollywood Hero for Nakamura Stables, who had a half length lead on John Henry’s Winter Solstice. He had John Henry silks on his outside as well, as our eventual winner, Dead Madness was within a length, and running sixth. Longshot Concerto Of Eggs led the next group, doing so on the rail for TwinTowersRacing. Next came Bubba Kush (Threshold), and Shanghai (Nakamura Stables) running between them. It was about two more lengths to the trailer, Feathers Not Dots (Night Rider Stables).
(¾ Mile- 1:11.20)- Immoral holds on to his lead during the backstretch and as they approach the final turn. Silent Commander running well on the rail seems poised to take over the top spot in the turn as he makes a minor push forward. Winchester is third, but lost a half length or so as he continues to run between them. Approaching the end of the backstretch, we begin to see Dead Madness showing that he plans on getting involved today, staking his claim on the fourth position, while moving into the money lane with his intentions of pulling up even with, if not passing, the three front runners, before they hit the top of the stretch. Hollywood Hero tries to go with him, but he does not have as clear of a lane. Winter Solstice remains in close proximity, and joining them on the inside is Concerto Of Eggs. Bubba Kush and Shanghai let him go without running with him. Feathers Not Dots is still at the back, but has caught those two.
(Top Of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- In the turn, Dead Madness looked like a horse that has won over $5,000.000 for his career. He would end up being five wide, since Hollywood Hero actually did take the fourth lane, and it still didn’t matter. A powerful stride in the the turn not only allowed Dead Madness to pull even with the front runners, or to take the lead, but by the time he hit the top of the stretch, he had a length lead over the field! Silent Commander, hugging the rail, was second, and moving into third it is Concerto Of Eggs. That one was having a great race too, and moved off the rail to eventually complete the pass of Silent Commander. Hollywood Hero was running well as he tried to stay to the inside of Dead Madness. Winchester dropped to fifth, and Immoral was having a tougher go of it, in sixth. Winter Solstice was next, but by now his trainer was focused on Dead Madness. Feathers Not Dots made a couple of passes, getting around Shanghai and Bubba Kush.
(Finish- 1:58.34)- Dead Madness continued to run well in the stretch, but when he started drifting a little, you had to wonder if Concerto Of Eggs could make a bid for the win. S R Bahen had to stay with it, and Dead Madness picks up a rather comfortable looking length win. Concerto Of Eggs will settle for a second place dead heat with Hollywood Hero, with Silent Commander running well enough to the wire to be fourth. They’d be followed by a fifth place dead heat between Feathers Not Dots and Winter Solstice, then it would be Winchester, Shanghai, Immoral, and Bubba Kush.
About The Winner- Dead Madness, trained by John Henry and ridden to victory by S R Bahen, is a five year old gelding by Moment Of Madness, and is out of Brawl Dead End. He was bred in New York by Mb Stables as a first quarter two year old, but was sold unraced by that trainer. He was eventually acquired by John Henry, via Tacaro Farm, for $40.000 in private sales in September 2018. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his eleventh in 26 starts, his 8th stake win, and 7th graded win. Of those, five are Grade 1’s. His career earnings are now $5,696.900.
Track: Firm
Time: :474 1:111 1:342 1:581
$2 Mutuel Prices:
$1 Exacta: 7 – 4 Paid 1,358.40, 7 – 6 Paid 42.10
$1 Trifecta: 7 – 4 – 6 Paid 597.20, 7 – 6 – 4 Paid 597.20
Scratched: Annihilator(L)
— NS
Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES
