Turf Champion Yibir Returns to U.S. in Man o' War

Trainer Christophe Clement knows winning a grade 1 stakes in the Empire State is never an easy task. "You always expect tough horses in a New York grade 1 stakes," he said. So, Clement was not anticipating a layup when he entered Gufo in the $700,000 Man o' War Stakes (G1T) for older horses. But tough might be a bit of an understatement for an equine King Kong that Gufo and four other starters will face in the May 14 turf test at Belmont Park. The 1 3/8-mile turf stakes will serve as a welcome back to the United States party for Yibir (GB), Godolphin's champion European-based homebred son of Dubawi (IRE) who won the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) and the $980,000 Jockey Club Derby Invitational Stakes at Belmont Park last year as a 3-year-old in his last two American appearances. "This is what you get in New York with a horse like Yibir," Clement said. Yibir shipped across the Atlantic Ocean after starting 2022 with a pair of seconds for trainer Charlie Appleby. The Eclipse Award-winning champion turf male of 2021 was the runner-up by a nose in the $6 million Longines Dubai Sheema Classic (G1) and then finished second again in the April 29 Betfair Exchange Jockey Club Stakes (G2) at Newmarket. "We were delighted with his first run back as a 4-year-old in the Sheema Classic. He was a fast-finishing second. We know the tracks he loves are the more conventional flat galloping track like Meydan and Belmont. The American tracks seem to suit him," said Appleby, who was victorious with nine of 18 North American starters and earned $5.8 million last year. "The race at Newmarket was a prep to come to America on the back of it. I know he was a beaten favorite on the day, but our European tracks don't seem to suit him so much. We were pleased that we got a run into him and he came out of the race well. I've spoken to the team at Belmont on a daily basis and they're happy with the way the horse has shipped and trained so far." Otter Bend Stables' Gufo is also a fan of Belmont Park with a grade 1 win at the Elmont, N.Y., oval. The 5-year-old son of Declaration of War captured the 2020 Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T) and owns a record of 2-1-2 in five starts at beautiful Belmont Park. He started 2022 on a winning note, taking the April 2 Pan American Stakes Presented by Rood and Riddle (G2T) at Gulfstream Park in his first start since a disappointing 10th behind Yibir in the Turf, his only unplaced finish in 15 career starts. "He had a nice prep race to start the year and has trained forwardly since then with a nice work on the grass last Friday," Clement said about the son of the Petionville mare Floy bred by John Little and owner Stephen Cainelli. Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Alex Daigneault's Abaan, who led in midstretch of the Pan American only to finish second by two lengths to Gufo, also returns in the Man o' War for trainer Todd Pletcher and has the kind of speed that could make him dangerous in a six-horse field. The field also includes a pair from trainer Graham Motion in Madaket Stables' Easter (FR), a 4-year-old son of Exosphere (AUS) who was a rallying third while making his U.S. debut in an April 15 allowance race at Aqueduct Racetrack, and Mrs. Fitriani Hay's Highland Chief (IRE), a Gleneagles (IRE) 5-year-old who was pinched at the start and finished ninth in an April 14 allowance race at the Big A in his initial American start. Rounding out the field is Knight R.B. Stables' So High (GB), a 6-year-old Nathaniel (IRE) gelding who was fifth at 90-1 in last year's Man o' War and returned from 10 1/2 months on the sidelines to finish second at 28-1 odds, a head in front of Easter, in the April 15 race. Trained by Naipaul Chatterpaul, he was claimed for $25,000 in 2020, which by itself, after what happened last weekend in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) with the ex-claimer Rich Strike, makes him an intriguing longshot. The Man o' War will be the eighth race on an 11-race card with five graded stakes, including the Peter Pan Stakes (G3), a traditional prep for the June 11 Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1). Fans planning to be on hand at Belmont Park are advised to arrive early as three performances of "Sesame Street Live!" are scheduled for Saturday morning and afternoon at the UBS Arena on the grounds.