Slumber Upsets Big Blue Kitten in Manhattan
Slumber upset his favored stablemate Big Blue Kitten by alertly rallying from off the pace and then closing down the stretch with a powerful kick to capture his first graded stakes victory in the Grade 1, $1 million Knob Creek Manhattan at Belmont Park on Saturday.
The 114th running of the Manhattan, run on the turf course by a field of 11 horses 4 and older, immediately preceded American Pharoah's run to immortality in the 147th Belmont Stakes to become the 12th Triple Crown winner, and was one of 10 stakes on the 13-race program that capped the three-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.
Overlooked at 14-1, Michael Dubb and Sheep Pond Partners' Slumber gave trainer Chad Brown, who also saddled 3-1 favorite Big Blue Kitten and Hyper in the race, his second stakes win on the card after taking the Grade 2, $500,000 Woody Stephens with March earlier in the afternoon.
The win, while wearing blinkers for the first time, was the first for the British-bred Slumber since August 2013 at Saratoga Race Course and snapped a 10-race losing streak.
Under an extremely patient ride by Irad Ortiz, Jr., which caught the rest of the field napping, Slumber bid his time as War Dancer set slow splits of 24.97 seconds, 50.34, 1:14.52 and 1:36.31 before making his move and finishing in 2:01.23 on a course rated as "good" after heavy morning rain.
Big Blue Kitten finished 2 3/4 lengths behind his stablemate, while Legendary was another head back in third.
"Both horses ran terrific," Brown said. "First Big Blue Kitten didn't get the greatest of trips. He was out of position a little early, and then they went too slow. He was too far back, and they really weren't going to come back. They way the race set up, you needed to be mid-pack or better to really have any chance to win, and there was just no pace. But he ran terrific to get up for second.
"Slumber on the other hand, we finally put some small blinkers on the horse," he said. "I had been tinkering with doing it since I started training the horse, but every time I ran him, he ran a good sheet number and I was afraid to make too many changes. After his last start at Churchill, he was wide and he didn't get the best trip and ran even again. I just thought, 'Now's the time to try it.' It made all of the difference. I thought Irad got position early, and he was moving so comfortably halfway through the race he just needed a hole. He was a winner every step, really."
Ortiz was also impressed by Slumber.
"Last time, we had a tough trip, so we tried to figure out the horse," he said. "He likes the clear, but we went too wide that day. Chad made a smart move and put some blinkers on. We gave it a chance and saved ground and he was there when I called for him. He ran pretty good. The blinkers helped a lot."
Despite having to settle for second, regular rider Joe Bravo had praise for Big Blue Kitten, a Ken and Sarah Ramsey homebred.
"It was a turf race. I wish he were able to get clear a little earlier," Bravo said. "He's an awesome horse. He comes running."
Slumber, a 7-year-old son of Cacique, returned $30.20 for a $2 wager while improving his record to five wins in 21 starts and increasing his bankroll to $999,662 with the $535,000 winner's share of the purse.
Finnegan's Wake, Magic Artist, War Dancer, Twilight Eclipse, Hyper, Jack Milton and General a Rod completed the order of finish.
Source: NYRA (Lynn Snierson)