The racing world is still processing the recent death of Christophe Clement, one of the sport’s outstanding trainers of turf horses.
The news of his passing was stunning in that his battle with cancer was a tightly-held secret among family and closest friends.
The Frenchman carved quite a legacy, and now the mantle passes to his son and long-time assistant, Miguel, to carry on the Clement tradition.
The first major test for the heir apparent comes Saturday in the $1 million Manhattan Stakes (G1), one of the showcase events on the Belmont Stakes undercard at Saratoga.
Clement will saddle three of the nine runners, including 3-1 second choice Far Bridge, in the 1 3/16 miles test over the Mellon Turf Course.
“Dad loves the Manhattan, and this was the plan a long time ago,” Clement said of the trio’s entry in a race that Christophe Clement won three times with Forbidden Apple [2001], Gio Ponti [2009], and Winchester [2010]. “Historically speaking, it’s been a terrific race. It’s probably one of the best races that we have because it’s a race where you have the best stayers and the best milers all meeting in the middle.
“All three horses are doing very well, and it’s exciting,” Clement added. “It’s time to run.”
Far Bridge is Clement’s best shot. The 5-year-old was third in this race last year. Since then, Far Bridge has a pair of Grade 1 wins in the Sword Dancer Stakes at Saratoga and the Turf Classic at Aqueduct.
He posted stakes victories in four of his last five outings, including the Man O’ War Stakes (G2) most recently at Aqueduct.
The other two Clement runners appear to be a notch below.
Deterministic (9-2) scored a front-running victory last time out in the Fort Marcy Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct. The major knock is that most of his stakes wins have come against Grade 3 competition.
This is a major hike in class.
Carson’s Run (12-1) did win the Saratoga Derby (G1) last summer, but that was against 3-year-olds. This is a much saltier group.
The saltiest of all is Spirit of St Louis, the 5-2 favorite. The New York-bred surprised even his trainer by developing into a divisional leader.
We are not even halfway through the year, and Spirit of St Louis has already captured the Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) and the Turf Classic (G1) on the Kentucky Derby (G1) undercard.
“He’s remarkably consistent, this horse,” trainer Chad Brown said. “He’s reached a level this year that I didn’t even see coming. I’m just trying to keep him where he’s at right now – happy and sound.”
Post time for the Manhattan is 6:09 p.m. (race 13).
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