Bourbon Bon Bay Looking to Regain Form in Willa On the Move
Nominations Close Saturday for Pair of Juvenile Stakes Dec. 7
LAUREL, MD – Susan Moulton’s well-traveled millionaire Manny Wah, without a victory since becoming a Grade 2 winner 25 months ago, will attempt to end his drought when he comes to Maryland for the first time in Saturday’s $100,000 Dave’s Friend at Laurel Park.
With $1,005,359 in purse earnings from 47 starts, 8-year-old Manny Wah is the richest and second most experienced horse in a field of seven that includes Grade 3 winner Dean Delivers, Grade 2-placed Witty and Five Dreams (51 starts) – all nine-time winners.
“He came into the barn this summer and he’s been doing well,” Kentucky-based trainer John Ennis said. “He’s an older horse now so you don’t know what they’re going to do, really, but no complaints. He’s been great to have around.”
Laurel will be the 13th track in nine states for Manny Wah, who broke his maiden second time out in July 2018 at old Arlington Park near Chicago. He has finished in the top three 24 times including 11 seconds and eight thirds to go along with five wins, the most recent coming in the 2022 Phoenix (G2) at Keeneland.
“He could probably drive the truck himself at this point,” Ennis said. “He moves fantastically and he still shows and looks like he has the hunger for it, so we’re going to give it a go and see if we can get him back on the winning trail.”
Ennis, a 42-year-old native of Ireland, was the regular exercise rider for Hall of Famer Wise Dan who took out his trainer’s license in 2012 and won his first race a year later. He already has a personal best 36 wins and $2 million in purse earnings in 2024.
Manny Wah joined Ellis over the summer after previously being trained by Wayne Catalano, Hall of Famer Bob Baffert and Will Walden, and has raced three times including a third in a Belterra Park allowance Aug. 28. Most recently the son of champion Will Take Charge was a longshot sixth in the six-furlong Phoenix Oct. 4.
“He came out of the Phoenix perfect, no problems at all. He seems to be going into this race fresh and well,” Ennis said. “We’ll take a shot and hopefully it’ll be a little softer competition than his last race was, but he’s doing good.”
According to Equibase statistics Ennis has run nine horses at Laurel since 2019, winning with Happy Clouds Jan. 8, 2023 and running second with Barbaroni Feb. 21, 2020. He also had Divine Leader run fifth in the 2022 Dave’s Friend.
The late-running Manny Wah drew outermost Post 7 in the Dave’s Friend at 120 pounds, six less than topweight Dean Delivers and four fewer than Witty. Sheldon Russell will be aboard.
“It’s a fantastic post for him, for a horse that kind of comes from off the speed. I think that’ll be perfect,” Ennis said. “Even though he hasn’t won in a little while he definitely has been competitive. Some of them speed-favoring tracks like Churchill and Keeneland probably didn’t suit him too well. There was a lot of speed in those other races and hopefully Laurel won’t be as speed-favoring and he’ll be able to make a run at them.”
Bourbon Bon Bay Looking to Regain Form in Willa On the Move
Erin Hlubik’s 7-year-old homebred mare Bourbon Bon Bay, a stakes winner that ran fifth in last month’s Maryland Million Distaff off more than a year layoff, will make her second start in the same calendar year for just the second time in Saturday’s $100,000 Willa On the Move at Laurel Park.
The Maryland-bred Bourbon Bon Bay won each of her first five starts, all at Parx, spread out over 20 months between November 2021 and July 2023 highlighted by the 2022 Cornucopia. She went to the sidelines in August 2023 and resurfaced in the Oct. 12 Distaff for new trainer Ned Allard.
“She had a long vacation,” Allard said. “She was off for more than a year when she ran in the Maryland Million, and I thought she really ran quite well. She came out of that race super and she’s training dynamite. I think if she moves up a couple of jumps, she’s going to be real tough.”
In the Distaff, Bourbon Bon Bay raced outside of foes in the seven-furlong Distaff and was within four lengths of the lead entering the stretch before tiring to be beaten 5 ½ lengths by multiple stakes winner Foxy Junior. By Grade 2-winning millionaire Bourbon Courage, she has breezed twice since the Distaff ahead of the 6 ½-furlong Willa On the Move for fillies and mares 3 and up.
“She shows up every time and I thought she showed up that day, too,” Allard said of the Distaff. “I think the seven-eighths might have been a little more than she was trying to do but now that she’s got a race under her belt and come back and had a couple of breezes, I like her. I think she’s got a real good chance.”
Nominations Close Saturday for Pair of Juvenile Stakes Dec. 7
Free nominations close Saturday for the $100,000 Maryland Juvenile and $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Filly Saturday Dec. 7 at Laurel Park.
The seven-furlong sprints restricted to Maryland-bred/sired horses are the first two of eight stakes worth $750,000 in purses during the final month of Laurel’s calendar year-ending fall meet.
Entries will be taken and post positions drawn Sunday, Dec. 1 for both stakes.
For questions or to make nominations contact Maryland Jockey Club stakes coordinator Eleanor Albert at Eleanor.Albert@marylandracing.com or call 301-725-0400.
Laurel’s fall meet resumes with a nine-race program Friday and includes a carryover of $3,819.40 in the $1 Jackpot Super High Five (Race 6). The 20-cent Rainbow 6 begins anew in Race 4 after being solved for an $11,886.60 jackpot payout on the last live program Sunday.