Kwietniowski finding success with unlikely talent

A pair of Manitoba bred harness racing horses have been finding success in southern Ontario.

Trainer Mike Kwietniowski has been in charge of a couple of Manitoba bred horses and he’s been able to find a new gear for them.

“It first started with Jim Strikesitrich (Sunshine Beach),” Kwietniowski said. “I like to play the games, Off and Pacing and Catch Driver which is where I met Garrett (Isman). We became friends on there and after a bit of talking, he sent me Jim to work with until he got claimed.”

Jim Strikesitrich had six starts for Kwietniowski and he earned a cheque in each. The four-year-old gelding has since moved on to another stable but that did not end Kwietniowski’s journey.

“After the meet last year, Garrett asked if he could send me Maddy N Maggie (Sunshine Beach) and Zippidy Zoom (Sunshine Beach). It was’t too long after when I was contacted by Lorraine and Arthur Rey, and it spiraled from there, Kwietniowski explained.”

The young three-year-old filly, Maddy N Maggie found herself getting four straight wins at Flamboro Downs before she had an unfortunate fourth place finish on Saturday evening (Dec. 17). When she had previously raced at Miami Fair over the summer, she had trouble finding her groove and was not able to get into the winner’s circle. The move from a small fair track to the busier situation at Flamboro Downs has been good for her.

“Maddy has been really good,” Kwietniowski added. “I didn’t race her for a month or two because it’s been a big change for her. She was a very nervous horse, but we took our time with her and it’s now working out. It’s a big change for them to come from Manitoba fair to now here. Our training center is probably busier than the track out there. She was always willing, and she has a really nice gait. It just took time to relax and get used to her new surroundings.”

Maddy N Maggie managed to earn herself a lifetime mark of 1:59.0 and she will continue to look to improve on that performance.

Another Manitoba bred horse that has found his way into Kwietniowski’s barn is Emmetts Buddy (In The Irons). Emmetts Buddy was one of the most dominant three-year-olds in Manitoba over the summer. He’s proudly bred and owned by Arthur Rey.

Emmetts Buddy won the 2022 running of the Manitoba Great Western Stakes, which is Manitoba’s most prestigious annual stake. Emmetts Buddy also was a runner up for the MSSBA Futurity Final and MSSBA Golden Boy which are some of Manitoba’s other major harness racing events. In eight races at Miami Fair, he won five of them and finished in the top three all eight times.

When it was time to hand out the end-of-year hardware, Emmetts Buddy won Manitoba-Bred Three-year-old Colt/Gelding of the Year and also took the home top honour as Manitoba-bred Horse of the Year. Now he’s racing on Canada’s biggest stage at Woodbine Mohawk Park, and he wound up getting a souvenir picture from the winner’s circle. With Louis-Phillippe Roy aboard, Emmetts Buddy paced the oval in Campbellville On in the time of 1:54.2 and established a new lifetime mark.

“He’s been a sweetheart from the word go,” Kwietniowski said. “He took a while to settle in after being shipped out and he got sick so there was some bad luck at first. He’s a sweet little horse with some speed. He’s been known to get funny during the turns but that’s why Mohawk has been the best place to race him. We got all the little kinks worked out and he came through big with his win.”

Kwietniowski has slowed down when it comes to training over the last couple of years, but he has really jumped right back into action in 2022. He is inching closer to $1,000,000 in lifetime earnings as a trainer and it was never something he initially thought about, but it has become something that he is starting to eye.

“It was never something I thought about until I noticed how close I am,” Kwietniowski said. “Now it’s something that I feel like I need to hunker down and get done. It will be nice to hit that milestone, so it’s been driving me as of late.”

Kwietniowski will continue his quest to reach $1,000,000 in earnings as a trainer while his horses continue to race in southern Ontario.

by Trey Colbeck, for Harnesslink