After registering three grade 1 wins at Churchill Downs May 6-7, Godolphin will aim for more top-level success May 13 at Belmont Park when it sends out homebred Warren Point for his North American debut in the $600,000 Man o' War Stakes (G1T).
After wintering in the Middle East to start the season, Warren Point is expected to face seven other older horses Saturday in the 1 3/8-mile test scheduled for Belmont's inner turf, where the rail will be placed at nine feet.
A 4-year-old Dubawi gelding, Warren Point will be making his first start since finishing second in the $2.5 million HH The Amir Trophy Feb. 18 at Doha in Qatar. On Feb. 3 he opened his season with a victory in the His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa Cup.
"He ran some nice races for us in the winter," said Chris Connett, assistant to Warren Point's trainer Charlie Appleby. "He shipped over well and should be fine with the distance and the ground here."
Appleby certainly is comfortable shipping to New York. Since last season he's had nine starts at New York Racing Association tracks and has landed a grade 1 win, grade 2 win, and two grade 3 victories, along with four other graded stakes placings. The most recent of those victories came Saturday with Godolphin's Ottoman Fleet taking the Fort Marcy Stakes (G2T) at Belmont.
Frankie Dettori, in the middle of his farewell year in which he already has registered a number of important wins, will have the mount.
Racing for United States-based trainers at Churchill Downs, Godolphin's Pretty Mischievous won the Kentucky Oaks (G1) (trainer Brendan Walsh) May 5 while on May 6 Cody's Wish won the Churchill Downs Stakes (G1) (trainer Bill Mott) and Matareya (trainer Brad Cox) won the Derby City Distaff Stakes (G1).
In the Man o' War Mott will send out 9-year-old multiple grade 1 winner Channel Maker, who won the 2019 edition of this race. The son of English Channel prepped for this year's test with a fourth-place finish in the 1 1/2-mile Elkhorn Stakes (G2T) April 22 at Keeneland.
While Channel Maker aims to return to his top form, Verstappen, a 4-year-old son of War Front who has won three of his past four starts including a narrow win in the Elkhorn, will try to continue any momentum. The Elkhorn marked his graded stakes debut for trainer Walsh and owners Andrew Farm, For the People Racing Stable, and Windmill Manor Farm.
The horse Verstappen edged in the Elkhorn, 9-year-old Red Knight, is one of two horses entered in the Man o' War by trainer Mike Maker. Trinity Farm homebred Red Knight, a multiple graded stakes winner looking for his first top-level win, is scheduled to be joined by stablemate Value Engineering, who in March won the Mac Diarmida Stakes (G2T) at Gulfstream Park for owners Michael Hui and Phil Forte.
Belmont Park, Saturday, May 13, 2023, Race 5Entries: Man o' War S. (G1T)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Red Knight (NY) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 122 Michael J. Maker 7/2 2 2Warren Point (GB) Lanfranco Dettori 118 Charles Appleby 9/5 3 3Channel Maker (ON) Joel Rosario 122 William I. Mott 6/1 4 4Verstappen (KY) Declan Cannon 122 Brendan P. Walsh 6/1 5 5Howe Street (KY) Flavien Prat 118 Jorge R. Abreu 8/1 6 6Soldier Rising (GB) Jose L. Ortiz 118 Christophe Clement 5/1 7 7Strong Tide (IN) Florent Geroux 118 Michael E. Lauer 20/1 8 8Value Engineering (KY) Manuel Franco 122 Michael J. Maker 12/1
