By Alan Carasso
On an afternoon when Joey Chestnut was devouring a record-setting 75 hot dogs not far away at Coney Island, trainer Chad Brown was making some history of his own at Belmont Park. OXO Equine LLC's Instilled Regard (Arch) came with a sudden burst of late energy to pip stablemate Rockemperor (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) in Saturday's GI Manhattan S., giving the conditioner his record-equaling sixth victory in the 10-furlong grass feature, all since Desert Blanc (GB) (Desert Style {Ire}) provided him with his first in 2012. It was the second time in that stretch that Brown had accounted for the exacta and came one year after Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar (Giant's Causeway) led home a top-three sweep.
“It's a testament to my team,” Brown said after the race. “Through the years a lot of different horses have passed through our hands but much of my same team is intact and they've been working with all these horses. All the credit goes to them.”
Instilled Regard was the first to break the line from his low draw, but Cross Border (English Channel) kicked on and showed the way into the turn, with Channel Maker (English Channel) lapped on his outside. Rockemperor was taken back to land in the box seat from third, while Instilled Regard settled three back on the rails. Cross Border lobbed along on an easy pace-the first half-mile was posted in a methodical :50.46–but all riders were happy enough with their position, with no significant change in the plot entering the final three furlongs. The pacesetters still had the race between them turning for home, but Rockemperor peeled away from the inside into the three path and was able to grind his way to the front with less than a sixteenth of a mile to travel. Instilled Regard, who appeared hopelessly defeated in upper stretch, found his second wind, split Rockemperor and Sadler's Joy (Kitten's Joy) in the dying strides and was shoved across the wire first.
“They both got really good trips,” said Brown. “Both jockeys did a great job and both horses responded super. It's unfortunate one of them had to lose. In the end, Instilled Regard just made the last move of the chess match. I'm so proud of the horse. He keeps getting better.”
Third in the 2018 GI Hollywood Derby when making his first turf start for the Brown barn, Instilled Regard broke through with a half-length score in last December's GIII Fort Lauderdale S. at Gulfstream. A creditable third in the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Jan. 25, the dark bay was an even sixth as the favorite in the GII Muniz Memorial S. at the Fair Grounds Mar. 21 and bounced back with a neck defeat of an unlucky stablemate Devamani (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the GII Fort Marcy S. June 6.
Pedigree Notes:
Instilled Regard was bought back on a bid of $110,000 out of the 2016 Keeneland September Sale, but validated that decision in spades when fetching the fourth-highest bid at the 2017 OBS March Sale (:20 4/5). One of 42 group/graded and 13 Grade I winners for his late sire–and one of five from Storm Cat-line mares–he counts champion and eight-time Grade I winner Heavenly Prize (Seeking the Gold) as his second dam. The latter was responsible for the likes of Grade I winner Good Reward (Storm Cat); the successful dual-hemisphere stallion Pure Prize (Storm Cat); the stakes-winning Cosmic (El Prado {Ire}); the stakes-placed Distinctively (Awesome Again), the dam of SW & MGISP Faithfully (Smart Strike); and Just Reward (Deputy Minister), dam of GISW Persistently (Smoke Glacken). Instilled Regard's third dam includes Heavenly Prize's Grade I-winning sister Oh What a Windfall and GISW Dancing Forever (Rahy). Enhancing is the dam of the 3-year-old colt Grandexaltedruler (American Pharoah) and a yearling filly by Medaglia d'Oro. She most recently produced a Quality Road filly this past Mar. 18. Instilled Regard is the fifth top-level scorer out of a daughter of Forestry (Nyquist, Rushing Fall, Turbulent Descent, Bobby's Kitten).
Saturday, Belmont Park
MANHATTAN S.-GI, $400,000, Belmont, 7-4, 4yo/up, 1 1/4mT, 2:02.59, fm.
1–INSTILLED REGARD, 120, h, 5, by Arch
1st Dam: Enhancing, by Forestry
2nd Dam: Heavenly Prize, by Seeking the Gold
3rd Dam: Oh What a Dance, by Nijinsky II
1ST GRADE I WIN. ($110,000 RNA Ylg '16 KEESEP; $1,050,000
2yo '17 OBSMAR). O-OXO Equine LLC; B-KatieRich Farms (KY);
T-Chad C. Brown; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr. $220,000. Lifetime Record:
18-5-3-4, $983,240. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Rockemperor (Ire), 120, c, 4, Holy Roman Emperor (Ire)&log=">Holy Roman Emperor (Ire)—
Motivation (Fr), by Muhtathir (GB). (€50,000 Ylg '17 ARAUG;
€12,000 2yo '18 ARQMAY). O-Madaket Stables LLC, Michael
Dubb, Wonder Stables, Michael E. Kisber & Bethlehem Stables
LLC; B-Haras du Mezeray (IRE); T-Chad C. Brown. $80,000.
3–Sadler's Joy, 120, h, 7, Kitten's Joy–Dynaire, by Dynaformer.
O/B-Woodslane Farm (KY); T-Thomas Albertrani. $48,000.
Margins: NK, HF, NK. Odds: 2.15, 2.05, 7.80.
Also Ran: Channel Maker, Cross Border, Spooky Channel, Devamani (Fr), Dot Matrix.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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