By Ben Massam
Platinum Seven LLC, Dan Guarino and Runner Runner Investments' Manhattan Dan (Big Brown) emerged from his 5 1/4-length victory in Saturday's Texas Glitter S. at Gulfstream Park in good order and will likely be pointed to the G1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot June 17, trainer Gary Contessa said Monday. The colt led wire-to-wire to notch the first stakes triumph of his career in the five-furlong dash [video], leading his connections to prioritize the overseas trip as a future goal.
“Our long-term goal, so to speak–something the owners would like to do and something that I've never done that piques my curiosity–is the [Commonwealth Cup],” Contessa said. “Obviously it's got to be the perfect storm. Everything has to go right, and he has to stay healthy. If all goes well, that's what the owners would like to do, and I certainly don't disagree with that. It would be quite interesting to see him run against the best 3-year-old colts in the world going six furlongs on the grass and running straight. He's going to be very tough.”
Contessa recalled that Manhattan Dan impressed in workouts ahead of his sophomore debut Saturday, but admitted that the sheer ease at which the bay dispatched his rivals came as a pleasant surprise.
“He was training that good, and I was certainly hopeful that he would give me that much of a dominating performance, but he blew me away,” Contessa acknowledged. “He went :54 [and change] coming off the layoff, he did it pricking his ears galloping to the wire, and [Javier] Castellano never cocked his stick. So he certainly exceeded my expectations, but that's what I've always hoped for him. I wake up every morning thinking, 'Man, this horse could be really something special sprinting on the grass.'”
Given the specialized nature of turf sprints, Contessa said that it will be challenging to find spots for his colt before the potential trip to Royal Ascot. With no turf sprints scheduled in New York until May and questions about whether Gulfstream Park will include another turf dash for 3-year-olds in their next stakes book, Manhattan Dan may ultimately compete against older horses in a 'two other than' allowance, “if all else fails.”
Manhattan Dan broke his maiden at third asking in a turf sprint at Saratoga last August and followed with a pair of third-place finishes in the GII Summer S. going one-mile at Woodbine and the GII Futurity S. on dirt at Belmont. He closed out his juvenile campaign with a seventh-place finish after setting the pace in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf and a 12th-place run in Del Mar's GIII Cecil B. DeMille S. Nov. 29. Although the colt has a temperament that suggests he can excel as a miler, Contessa said he believes Manhattan Dan is better suited to sprinting due to his innate speed.
“I've trained a lot of sprinters over the years, and a lot of them are 'A' personalities,” explained Contessa. “This horse is a cool, calm, collected dude. He helps himself. If you met him and you saw his demeanor, you'd never think he's as fast as he is. He just doesn't have a fast personality. He's a fast horse with a slow personality.”
Recognizing that he has a fast horse, Contessa said he plans to allow Manhattan Dan to flash his speed in turf sprints for the foreseeable future.
“He's a sprinter, and he's a sprinter on the grass,” the trainer concluded. “And this year is going to be his year to sprint. We have a lot of plans for him, and we think the sky is the limit.”
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