The Manhattan (Grade 1)- $1,000.000 Purse
BEL- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Quarter on the Inner Turf
June 8, 2019

Mb Stables let other trainers win some of the early races at BEL, but once the bigger purses began, it was time for him to shine. While some might wish for him to have an early retirement based on his level of dominance, we can all respect the way he took over the last races at BEL. Starting here in the Manhattan with Early Retirement, and continuing into the Metropolitan, and eventually a 1-2 finish in the BEL itself. Oh, and as many have pointed out, he also won the SRF sponsored pick ‘em. Sounds like a pretty good today. The Manhattan was about Early Retirement, the horse that dominated the BC Turf last year, and who was initially entered into the BEL Gold Cup yesterday. The trainer changed his mind, and wanted to go for the higher purse, and the decision paid off. It is the fourth time that he has won the race, perhaps wanting to show that he can be just as good on the turf as the trainer who took second and third in this race. R Bejarano is a three time winner, and it was his second time riding a winner here for Mb. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:58.22, the third quickest in the history of the stake, though the quickest of the races where winners carried the same weight. Let’s take a look!

(½ Mile- :47.03)- At the start of the race, we see two of the horses starting on the outside going out and taking the lead. John Henry’s Lunar Blaze would emerge as the quickest of them, and take a length lead as they made their way around the turn. Also beginning well was Call Me Spanish, for Maxmillion Farm, and that one would eventually settle in just behind the leader. He would be joined to his outside by longshot Sweep The Beach. Winter Solstice, another Maxmillion Farm entry, and our pick to win ran well on the rail in fourth. It was an interesting start for the D J C Racing Stables entry, The Joker, as the 2018 Manhattan winner did not initially get the same push from the outside as the two leaders, but he rounded the first turn with determination to advance his position and moved up to fifth after a half mile. Next, we get our eventual winner, Early Retirement from Mb Stables, a horse that actually broke very well out of the gate but became quickly restrained by R Bejarano and was now three lengths back. Sezarchai (Ekli Stable) and Lets Do It Big Boy (RNP Stables) ran side by side a length behind them. After a three length gap ran our trailers, Thats Fazzt (Estero Farms), First Class Male (Team 7 Illusions), and The Ego Has Landed (TwinTowersRacing).

(3/4 Mile- 1:10.33)- There is not much change as the field runs down the backstretch, although Call Me Spanish catches Lunar Blaze for the lead and the two of them are now running side by side. Winter Solstice continues to patiently wait for his time to strike, inheriting the third position as Sweep The Beach began to drop out of contention. Similarly, The Joker took over fourth for the same reason. Early Retirement still ran three lengths back and was unconcerned with what the leaders were doing at this point in the race. Lets Do It Big Boy started show more interest as they were approaching the turn, and prepared for an outside run. The rest of the field was unchanged at this point.

(Top OF Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- Making their way around the turn, Call Me Spanish showboated (had to use that at least once) his way to the lead, doing away with Lunar Blaze a lot easier then one would think. At the top of the stretch, he led by a length, but there was pressure coming from behind. The trainer did not mind half of that, as stablemate Winter Solstice came off the rail and closed in. However, a power move by Early Retirement in charging by Sweep The Beach around the turn likely startled that rival by the strength of it, putting him three wide in the battle for second and closing his gap to a length and a half. First Class Male made a move in the turn as well and looked to be looming as a threat at least to pick up a check, at least. Lets Do It Big Boy made his outside move, but did not make as much progress around the turn as the trainer may have liked. Still, in the stretch he had moved up to fifth and had three lengths to make up. The Joker lacked response. Sezarchai, Thats Fazzt, and The Ego Has Landed were not showing much. The tailwind of Early Retirement’s power move dropped Sweep The Beach all the way to the back, quickly.

(Finish- 1:58.22)- In the stretch, Early Retirement was given a tough task as Call Me Spanish had plenty of fight left and was determined to still win this race. He made the pass difficult, but Early Retirement was just a little bit better with every kick, and this enabled him to take the lead and win in a hard fought battle with Call Me Spanish. The runner up has nothing to be ashamed of in terms of his effort, and we will likely see a rematch between these two as the BC Turf nears, and then in the BC itself. Winter Solstice ran well but could not quite catch the top two, and settles for a third place dead heat. The horse in that was Lets Do It Big Boy, who used his outside lane to gain a lot of ground, and with a little more room to run, I think he would have been the more likely one to possibly have snuck away with a win. He had to cover extra race track here, too. Lunar Blaze is fifth, beating First Class Male by a head for that spot. They were followed by Sezarchai, The Joker, Thats Fazzt, and The Ego Has Landed rounds it out. Wait, there’s one more! Then eventually by Sweep The Beach, who was outclassed.

About The Winner- Early Retirement, trained by Mb Stables, and ridden to victory by R Bejarano, is a four year old gelding by Decima, and is out of Dirty Dawg. He was bred in Ontario by Mb Stables as a first quarter two year old, the only trainer for which he has ever known. Congratulations to the connections! The win is the seventh in 17 starts for the reigning BC Turf Champion, and is fifth graded win. His career earnings are now $4,843.600.

Track: Firm
Time: :47   1:10¹  1:33⁴  1:58¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 5 – 10 Paid 84.00
$1 Trifecta: 5 – 10 – 1 Paid 781.10, 5 – 10 – 9 Paid 391.00

Scratched: People Doubted, Swansbrook(L)

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES