Manny Wah prior to running in last year’s Phoenix (G2) at Keeneland (Courtney Snow/Past The Wire)
NYRA Press Office
OZONE PARK, N.Y.— Susan Moulton’s graded stakes-winner Manny Wah, who is cross-entered in Saturday’s Forego at Turfway Park, will ship north for his first career appearance in the Empire State in pursuit of attaining millionaire status in Saturday’s Grade 3, $175,000 Toboggan, a seven-furlong sprint for older horses, at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Trained by Will Walden, the chestnut son of Will Take Charge currently boasts total purse earnings of $920,196 through lifetime record of 42-5-9-7. A win in the Toboggan would award him $96,250 and make him racing’s newest millionaire in his 43rd lifetime outing and the first start of his 8-year-old campaign.
“We train a few horses for Susan and she called me up one day and said she was going to move him over,” said Walden. “She’d like to make him a millionaire – he’s come this far. The purse is bigger there than at Turfway, and we’re asking a few questions here, but we’re taking in information that we can use going forward to get him over the million-dollar mark.”
Manny Wah, who makes his second outing for Walden after making 40 of his first 41 starts for conditioner Wayne Catalano, seeks to land his second graded score after taking the Grade 2 Phoenix by a neck over Long Range Toddy in October 2022. The veteran chestnut has kept in top company throughout his career, which also includes three additional graded placings and a close fourth in the 2022 Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
In his first start for Walden, Manny Wah tried synthetic for the first time since August 2019 when drawing the outermost post 11 in the six-furlong Holiday Cheer at Turfway. There, he trailed in last 9 1/2 lengths off the pace and steadily made up ground to finish fourth three lengths behind the victorious Night Time.
“The way he ran last time, he got caught almost 10 lengths off the pace and only got beat three lengths for it all,” said Walden. “In the mornings, he comes off the track with a buck and is playing, and he gives us all the signs he wants to keep doing this and to compete.”
Manny Wah has not raced beyond six furlongs since finishing an even eighth in the seven-furlong Grade 3 Commonwealth Cup in April 2022, but Walden expressed confidence in jockey Dylan Davis’ ability to play the pace as Manny Wah emerges from post 3-of-7 on Saturday.
“He seems to run on whatever you put him on. The seven-eighths is a little bit of a question, but I don’t see any reason why he won’t handle the surface there,” said Walden. “I think he likes a pretty solid pace up front. He’s a closing type sprinter, so we hope for an honest pace. There’s not a crazy bunch of speed in this race, so I think Dylan will find himself laying a little closer to the pace than he normally does, but it will be towards the back of the pack.
“He came out of his last race great and he’s been training better going into this race than that race,” added Walden. “He was telling us he’s sitting on a big race, so we felt like we would take a shot. We’ve got Dylan, who’s electric right now, so we’ll try to get lucky.”
Walden, the son of multiple Grade 1-winning trainer and WinStar Farm President and CEO Elliot Walden, began training in 2022 after working for several top barns on the East Coast, including Hall of Famers Bill Mott and Todd Pletcher, where he honed his skills with some of racing’s most elite horses. Walden said Manny Wah ranks highly amongst the horses he has worked with.
“Class exudes from him. I’ve been fortunate enough to be around some nice horses and he’s one of the classiest I’ve been ever been around,” said Walden. “Anybody that gets on his back comes back singing his praises. You’d feel comfortable putting a toddler on his back. He’s the barn pet and everybody loves him. He’s a cool horse be around and we’re grateful to have the opportunity to be around him.”
