Manny Wah trying to make his way back to Breeders' Cup

NEW ORLEANS – Wayne Catalano to this day believes Manny Wah could have won the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Keeneland with a clean trip. And Manny Wah’s connections, believe it or not, still think the 6-year-old could have enough spark to make it to the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Keeneland this fall.

That hope, plus Manny Wah’s apparent dislike for the current iteration of the Fair Grounds grass course, has landed him in the featured third race Monday at Fair Grounds. The six-furlong dirt dash has two high-end allowance conditions as well as an $80,000 claiming option but drew only five entrants.

Manny Wah has the rail and jockey Jareth Loveberry, and Catalano, who already trains the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner, Aloha West, is looking forward to the turf-to-dirt move with his charge. Manny Wah, returning from a 10 1/2-month layoff, turned in a good turf run finishing second to mighty Just Might in the Richard Scherer Memorial here Dec. 26. Catalano predicted Manny Wah would turn the tables on Just Might in the Duncan Kenner Stakes here Jan. 22, but Manny Wah clunked home sixth.

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“He really didn’t like that surface that day. He didn’t like it at all from what I could tell and what the jockey said,” Catalano said. “Even in his first race this meet I don’t think he was loving it.”

Manny Wah finished fifth, beaten a little more than four lengths with a troubled trip in the 2020 BC Sprint, and were he to approach that dirt form Monday, he’d win.

“We want him on the dirt and see if we can get him to form and back to the Breeders’ Cup,” said Catalano, who trains Manny Wah for Susan Moulton.

Long Weekend, drawn on the outside, could prove the controlling speed, but his peak came nearly two years ago at Oaklawn Park and Long Weekend didn’t approach it during his 2021 campaign. He’s trained by Tom Amoss, as is Double Crown, just a one-time winner from nine starts since July 2020.

Went West last was seen finishing a flat seventh in the Thanksgiving Classic, but maybe Shadow Matter could factor. Shadow Matter’s most recent start, going seven furlongs Nov. 28 at Churchill, wasn’t run to suit his style. Shadow Matter, just a 4-year-old, had improved considerably in his two previous starts. His work pattern for trainer Dallas Stewart is encouraging and Shadow Matter might even be a fair price in the win pool.