Plymouth Chubb win honours legendary trotter

Kerryn and Peter Manning honoured their champion Knight Pistol in the best way possible with a stunning harness racing victory in the race named in his honour.

The father-and-daughter harness racing legends savoured an emotional win at Melton tonight when Plymouth Chub (Majestic Son) 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.”

“WHAT A FAIRY TALE!”
The Mannings win the Aldebaran Park Knight Pistol, amazing!
Plymouth Chubb crashed the line for Kerryn Manning and Peter Manning to win the Group 2 and give a glimpse of the extraordinary success they shared with the trotter after whom the race’s named. pic.twitter.com/FkrbIOB7gq

— The Trots (@TheTrotsComAu) February 11, 2023

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.”

The race was the seventh leg of the Aurora Australis, the rich Victorian trotting series that culminates with the TAB Australian Trotting Grand Prix on February 25.

The victory is Plymouth Chubb’s second of the series, increasing his tally to 16 points, trailing only Great Southern Star champion Just Believe (25 points).  Im Ready Jet, Majestic Man and Aldebaran Zeus also sit on 16 points in a four-way go for second and with victory in the final leg could draw level with the series leader.

The victory also takes Plymouth Chubb’s earnings to almost $340,000, well shy of Knight Pistol’s $609,953 but at only age four he looks to have plenty of time and ability to make ground.

“There (are similarities) for sure,” Kerryn said. “I guess the track at home takes a fair bit of speed out of some of the horses and adds a bit of toughness. They are similar in that way, they’re both big strong horses and not the best lookers but they’ve got big hearts and that’s what matters in the end.

“This horse has stepped up in the big class. I wasn’t sure from that draw tonight how he would go. Certainly last week showed me he could do it but he did lead when he won and his run in the final was a really big run.

“Tonight he’s shown that that form was not a fluke. Stepping out in this class is never easy, but he’s shown now that he can mix it, which is really good.”

KERRYN MANNING JOINED TROTSVISION TO TALK ABOUT KNIGHT PISTOL: