Kerryn and Peter Manning honoured their champion Knight Pistol in the best way possible with a stunning victory in the race named in his honour.
The father-and-daughter harness racing legends savoured an emotional win at Melton on Saturday when Plymouth Chub produced an outstanding burst to the line to win the Aldebaran Park Knight Pistol.
“It meant a lot actually,” Kerryn Manning said. “It’s fabulous that I could win that race and have even more memories of Knight Pistol.”
From 1996 to his last race in December 1999 Knight Pistol was extraordinary for the Mannings, having 87 of his 181 career starts for the Great Western duo and producing 41 of his 55 career wins, including a famous victory in Norway.
They became the first southern hemisphere duo to win a European Group 1 and tonight, some 26 years on, they would win a Group 2 in that trotter’s honour with their latest ‘big thing’.
Kerryn said it was a result that meant plenty to Peter.
“He never shows much emotion dad but he loves this horse (Plymouth Chubb),” she said.
“He’s done such a great job with him to get him back from injury and backing him up from last week. Probably the runs did him good actually, might have gotten a little bit of weight off him and he felt good.”
Plymouth Chubb had something of a breakthrough moment in the February 3 Woodlands Stud Great Southern Star, having led an outstanding field to win the opening heat and then followed up with a respectable eighth in a close-run final. The runs confirmed the two-year-old sensation was ready to mix it with the best at age four.
“He’s got a long way to go to catch (Knight Pistol) yet, but he’s on the right track,” Kerryn said.
“He’s certainly a really old soul, as you say about people. He certainly from a young age was bigger and stronger and had the manners of an older horse and that was why he was so dominant as a two-year-old – he was just better than them.
“Obviously (after) his injury and a long time out, (his) three-year-old campaign was a bit slower and the others caught up to him a bit. They matured a bit and the gap decreased.
“It took him a few runs to get back to fitness too. He’s just starting to get back to it now. These harder runs in these better races where he doesn’t lead and can sit on speed are going to help him too.”
Manning was able to lay in wait tonight’s Melton race with Kiwi Majestic Man the dominant early force, bristling from gate six to lead from Sleepee, who used her own outstanding gate speed to cross Sundons Courage.
And from there it was a waiting game over the 2240 metres. Chris Alford on Aldebaran Zeus was keeping petrol in the tank in the breeze while Majestic Man was running freely at the front of affairs, keeping a solid tempo of even quarters until Alford started to press from the 600-metre mark.
A waiting Plymouth Chubb struck from the one-one and Sleepee from the sprint lane, the pair drawing level by the 200-metre mark and sweeping past the leaders with 100 metres to go, with Plymouth Chubb clearing out to win by two metres.
“Up the back I thought I was in trouble, but I pulled the plugs and he actually picked the bit up again and charged down the outside,” Manning said. “I did think Sleepee was going to get me up the inside but to the horse’s credit he battle on really well.”
Michael Howard
