He may not be the biggest horse on the racetrack, but not many others have the heart, lungs and desire to win as much as Little Manny currently has.
Little Manny headlines the Preferred Pace on Sunday, May 14 at Hippodrome 3R in Quebec. The six-year-old gelding is shooting for his third straight win since joining the Yves Tessier Stable and will have 3R’s three-time defending driving champion, Pascal Berube, in the sulky.
Little Manny is set to start from the the outermost post in the 10th race feature Sunday, part of a 12-race program at 3R that gets underway at 12 noon under predicted sunny skies.
“This horse, I watched him race at Woodbine [Mohawk Park] because often on Mondays I listen to the Woodbine races in parallel with our TV shows and I found him really beautiful to see despite the fact that he was not racing well,” said Berube.
Before being purchased privately by current owners, Michel Letarte of Boucherville and Jean Allaire of Montreal, and joining the Tessier barn, Little Manny was not doing so well.
Barely able to earn minor cheques in his last seven starts before being sold, Little Manny had not won a race since mid-February. He did have three prior wins but he was not racing up to his potential until now.
“I drove him for the first time in his first start for Yves,” explained Berube. “For the first start, Yves told me that he had towed the horse during the week and that he had liked it. He was not sure that he was in his best shape but he had liked it the way he had worked.”
In that first start for the Tessier barn at Rideau Carleton, Berube and Little Manny wired a field over a sloppy track in 1:55.1, winning by 3-1/2 lengths as the wagering favourite.
“Yves was right after his victory in his first start in the mud at Rideau,” said Berube. “He won and especially that he finished his race very strong as he had not done so well for a long time. He was very energetic.”
Then Tessier decided to move Little Manny from Rideau to 3R last week and the results were once again the same. Little Manny and Berube were parked out to the first quarter and then wired the field in the Preferred Pace in 1:55.3 by 4-3/4 lengths to give Little Manny his 24th career win.
“His race last week did not surprise me,” added Berube. “Because Yves seemed to tell me that he will be even better in the weeks to follow.”
Even though Little Manny drew post eight this Sunday at 3R, he is still listed as the 5-2 morning line favourite in the 10th race off his two prior wins, which were from much better inside post positions.
“This week, with position eight, it will not be easy,” said Berube. “He won't be able to win all the races but this horse is very brave. He seems to like his work and I love driving him. It's a race that will be very exciting.”
While Little Manny did beat most of the starters in the race against him, he is still facing some stiff competition.
Mickeymaksomespeed goes from post six for driver Jocelyn Gendron and trainer-owner Michel Allard. An eight-time winner last year, Mickymaksomespeed is expected to improve greatly this week in his second start of the season.
Coming in off a 1:57.3 win last week, Siddhartha starts from the rail and is moving up in class for driver Stephane Brosseau. In 2022, Siddhartha made most of his starts in the Preferred class at 3R and won on four occasions.
The trotters are in the limelight in the ninth race Preferred Trot. Stella Alpha stands out in the field despite drawing the outside post eight position. An 11-time winner last year, 3R's "Princess of Trot" will also be driven by Pascal Berube.
In her last start, Stella Alpha cut the mile, but was dogged first-over the entire mile and ended up losing to Morally Flexible. Morally Flexible is back in the race for driver Stephane Brosseau and starts alongside Stella Alpha in post seven.
There are three other return winners in the race, likely to make it a contentious event. In addition to Morally Flexible, there is C Un Bon Deal (Post 3), coming off a five-length romp last week. Then it’s Fix A Drink (Post 6), who won his qualifying race, and Sammy Justice (Post 9), who posted a neck victory last week at 3R.
For a free race program, visit hippodrome3R.ca. To view entries for Sunday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Sunday Entries - Hippodrome 3R.
(QJC)