More than the weather is scorching in Southern Manitoba as a green trainer has been stealing the show at Miami Fair in the early weeks of the harness racing season in the Keystone Province.

The 22-year-old Mathew Howlett has five wins in 10 starts as a trainer in 2022 and has not finished outside the top three once in two days of racing.  Numbers like this are pretty impressive but come as little surprise to those who follow harness racing in Manitoba closely. Mathew is the son of longtime horseman Don Howlett, who has been in the Standardbred business for almost four decades and has been a notable name in Manitoba for the last 10 years. Don has won almost every stakes and major race in Manitoba and now is mentoring his son in the family business. The father-son duo has teamed up in 2022 with Mathew training and Don taking the driving duties.

The young Howlett had a few starts as a trainer in 2020 and had his first win but decided to take some time to improve on some things with a bigger stable in Southern Ontario.

“I asked around to see who in Ontario were hiring grooms because I wanted to gain more experience," explained Howlett. "Ben Baillargeon was hiring, and I knew some of the horses he had. I learned a lot from working under him. The way he runs his stable is so efficient, it’s no surprise he’s had a lot of success.”

With all the buzz around the new track development in Winnipeg, it was not a hard decision for Howlett to return to Manitoba.

“When I heard about the new track and that we were racing for money in Manitoba this year, it really got my attention to come back,” he said.​

​Up-and-coming Manitoba horseman Mathew Howlett at Miami Fair.

Like many, Howlett was introduced to the sport by the family connections and having a father like Don to watch, it is not any surprise that Mathew would eventually follow in his steps.

“I started helping my parents when I was in high school, but it was limited because I was playing other sports. Once I was done school, I could help out more and that’s when I started to fall in love with doing this.”

One of Howlett’s earliest and most memorable moments relating to harness racing came when he was a young teenager and he got to witness his dad's remarkable performance.

“I had a hockey tournament, but I was able to make it back in time to watch dad race in Killarney," he recalled. "He ended up having a five-win day and it was one of the first times I was able to see how good my dad is at this sport. It was my first time being in a win photo. It was great.”

Something that makes this memory stand out, even more, is the fact that Don had himself another five-win day at Miami Fair on July 16, but this time it was with his son being a part of the winning connections.

Howlett hopes to continue in the family business but recognized the challenges that could be heading his way.

“I would love to make a career out of this. It’s a lot of fun but it can be risky. It’s a hard sport to be good at over a long time. It always has ups and downs.”

Howlett is currently working on getting his driver’s license but with how his dad has been driving as of late, it would be a hard decision to make a change in the sulky at the moment, but his day will surely come.

​Trainer Mathew Howlett with Open pacer Woodmere Alvin and his father/driver Don Howlett in the winner's circle on July 16 at Miami Fair.

Currently, Howlett has five horses racing at Miami Fair and the most impressive are his Open and Filly & Mare Open entries. Woodmere Alvin (Rollwithitharry-Alittleeastermagic) is a free-legged pacer that was recently added to the Howlett barn and has won back-to-back Opens. Heavenly Evelyn (Rock N Roll Heaven-Alwaysgetsherway) is his Filly & Mare Open entry and she has a win and second-place finish in her two starts so far. Howlett has high praise for the seven-year-old mare.

“I’m speechless over Heavenly Evelyn, she is such an amazing horse. She always wants to go. She always wants to be on the track. When I’m done jogging her, she doesn’t want to get off the track and I just love having that in a horse.”

Howlett has one, if not the best, mentor in the game and he knows how blessed he is to have his dad around to continually teach him the ropes.

“I’m pretty lucky that he’s my father. He’s been in the game since he’s been my age. He’s the perfect one to learn from. He knows all the ins and outs of the track and he always knows how to improve the horse.”

Even after the time they’ve already worked together, Howlett is still shocked by what he sees from his dad.

“He knows what he’s doing. We do training miles all the time and he still surprises me with what he can do out there.”

The respect flows both ways and Don is just as appreciative of the time he gets to spend with his son at the track.

“His mother [Wanda] and I are both proud of Mathew," said Don. "He took the initiative on his own to go to Ontario a few years ago and work for a top stable, trainer Ben Baillargeon’s 'Team B,' where he learned to care for horses and the importance of hard work in this business. It’s great to have him back home applying that knowledge and focusing on building his own stable as a trainer.”

​Mathew Howlett (right) working with his father Don (left) at their Manitoba stable.

The Howlett stable will look to continue their dominant performance at Miami Fair this upcoming weekend as they have entries in the Opens and have starters in the stakes races that are scheduled for Saturday, July 23.

To view Saturday's harness racing entries, click on the following link: Saturday Entries - Miami Fair.

(A Trot Insider exclusive by Trey Colbeck)