Record-breaking gelding a shining star for Rey

2023 would have been a down year for harness racing owner Arthur Rey, but his homebred becoming arguably the greatest Manitoba-bred horse ever has made it his best.

Emmetts Buddy (In The Irons), whom Rey bred, broke, and trained from his farm near St. Claude, Man., has ascended to the highest level of overnight racing in Canada. The four-year-old has won four Preferreds at Woodbine Mohawk Park since October and took a mark of 1:49 in August, making him the fastest Manitoban horse in history.

Rey said he takes the most joy in what his horse’s success says about the nature of the sport.

“I’m proud of what he’s done,” he said, “and it’s quite something to accomplish that. What makes me even prouder is that (he is) a horse that comes from Manitoba, which was bred on my farm — we don’t have to go and buy $300,000 horses, everybody has a chance at this game. This is what I like about it: even the little guy can have luck and make it.”

Emmetts Buddy is a homebred in the purest sense. The Rey clan owned his sire, In The Irons, from 2016 until his sudden passing in 2020. Rey bought Logiciallyinclined, his dam, at the Forest City Sale as a yearling for $4,000 in 2010. She foaled Emmetts Buddy on the farm in 2019, and Rey broke him and trained him down. He showed talent to Rey — though not as much as he does now.

The gelding’s debut was delayed until three — a typical practice for Rey due to Manitoba’s short racing season and long, harsh winters — but Emmetts Buddy became major player on the circuit. He won his first three starts in 2022 at Miami Fair, including the Golden Boy first leg, before his first defeat in the preliminary round of The Futurity. Two weeks later, he captured the Manitoba Great Western, the province’s most coveted stake. Emmetts Buddy placed in two more stake events before the Manitoba season ended in September. The gelding won five of eight and never missed the board.

Rey then listed him for sale, but — fortunately, in hindsight — there were no takers.

“In the fall, I had posted him on onGait, and I didn’t get a bite,” he said.

Instead, he shipped the horse to Ontario trainer Michael Kwietniowski, who had good reviews from his sister-in-law and another Manitoban racing family, the Ismans. Rey hoped the seven-eighths-mile track at Woodbine Mohawk Park would help the horse with issues on the turns, but he broke stride in two of his first three starts. Kwietniowski steadily improved the pacer until he took his first victory in Ontario in December. Racing through the winter and into spring 2023, Emmetts Buddy consistently collected cheques and regularly reached the winner’s circle in mid-level conditions.

In the finale of William Wellwood Memorial night on Aug. 26, he became the first Manitoba-bred horse to break 1:50 with a powerful three-length victory in 1:49. Rey named it as one of his sweetest memories of the journey.

EMMETTS BUDDY AUGUST 26 REPLAY

Rey said it might’ve been the fastest mile by a Western Canada-bred horse ever, but the performance was also special on a personal level for all his connections.

“The time he went in 1:49, it was my first time having a sub-1:50, and it was (driver) Tyler Borth’s first, and it was Michael Kwietniowski’s first,” he said. “So it was quite the night.”

Emmetts Buddy then followed that effort with two sub-1:50 wins while rising in class, prompting Kwietniowski and Rey to give him a shot against some of North America’s best pacers in the Free For All on Mohawk Million night. Though he was well-beaten there, the four-year-old came back a week later to capture the Preferred-2 at 11-1 in 1:49.4, his first win in open company. The gelding has taken another three victories at the Preferred level since then and placed in three others. His most recent win on Dec. 9 brought his career totals up to 19 tallies from 49 starts and $267,719 in the bank — 80 per cent of which he has made this year.

Since rising to the open level, Emmetts Buddy brought Rey another first.

“We were down (in Ontario) in November, and we were lucky enough to have him win the night that we were there,” the 75-year-old said. “I’ve never had a horse win at Mohawk when I’m there.”

Rey said he visited the paddock that night and helped Kwietniowski with putting away the horse, who was calmer than typical after a race. He emphasized his appreciation for the trainer’s work, saying he “has done great things with Emmetts Buddy, which I am very thankful for.”

Racing is a family affair for Rey, who shares the interest with his brothers Roland and Richard and their sons Michel and Dean. Dean and Michel are top drivers on the Manitoba circuit and often pilot horses trained by Arthur, Richard, and Roland. Arthur Rey has eight grandchildren, and though he said they like horses, he is uncertain if any will take the reins of the racing operation in the future.

Regardless, he has intertwined them with many products of the stable, including his new star.

“Emmett is one of my grandchildren,” he said. “I name the horses after my grandkids; I had Dazzlin Rosie, I had Maxx Combo, I had Dellas Boy — these are all names of my grandkids.”

The potential for a small family operation to beat the biggest stables is one of harness racing’s best features for Rey, Manitoba’s 2018 Horseperson of the Year. He recalled his excitement at the success of Desperate Man, who upset in the 2021 North America Cup for the Cecchin family. Rey also loves how the sport is good for connecting with nice people and that it’s enjoyable even as one grows old. He said he and his family were “stung by the bug quite a long time ago.”

As the new year approaches, Rey’s first elite pacer is due for an extended rest — likely four to six weeks, he said. Emmetts Buddy finished fifth on Saturday but was fewer than two lengths back and closed in :26.3. He’s set to return on Dec. 16 and will face the usual cast plus newcomer Taurasi, who is wintering at Mohawk after racing most of the season on the Grand Circuit. The morning line has Emmetts Buddy as the 7-2 second choice.

Rey has reaped plentiful rewards from the gelding, which he has already begun to resow.

“You know what horsemen do, eh?” he said with a chuckle. “I bought a yearling in Ontario with Michael this fall at the London sale.”

The filly — a purchase from the same venue at which Rey landed Emmetts Buddys dam 13 years prior — is now in training with Kwietniowski. With the pair’s flagship gelding wrapping up his breakout season in less than a month, they have another potential star beginning her journey.

by Nicholas Barnsdale, for Harnesslink