Swettenham Stud shuttler Toronado (IRE) has a very good horse in North America with six year-old gelding Tribhuvan landing his second Group I victory over the weekend taking out the Group I Manhattan Stakes (1 ¼ m) on turf at Belmont.
Trained by Chad Brown, he scored a dominant three and a half length win taking his overall record to six wins and six placings from 23 starts.
He led all the way for Manuel Franco and was never challenged at the finish to win as he pleased.
“He had been training well and we were confident that if he got somewhat loose in this race, at least he would be in the picture late,” said Chad Brown.
“Manny [Franco] rode a great race and set an easy pace, but the key is he opened up. That=s what you've got to do with this horse. You've got to bottom the horses behind you.”
It was the second Group I win for Tribhuvan, who won the Group I Monmouth United Nations Stakes last year.
Bred in France, he is the best of five winners from Mahendra, an unraced sibling to Group winners Macleya and Montclair f rom stakes-winner Minaccia.
Toronado has had a service fee increase this year and stands at a fee of $88,000.
