Manchego To Race At Four

Originally announced as retired, trotting star Manchego will now return to the racetrack and add more star power to the already-stacked older trotting mare division.

Previously owned and campaigned by Barry Guariglia’s Black Horse Racing, Herb Liverman and John Fielding, Manchego is now owned solely by Black Horse Racing. Guariglia reportedly intended on breeding Manchego to Walner but changed his mind once the mare returned from being turned out and discussing another year of racing with her former trainer, Jimmy Takter.

"Jimmy looked at her and she had grown taller and wider, so we decided to go another year,” Guariglia told told Harness Racing Weekend Preview. “So far, so good. If we could get her over $2 million, that would be great.”

Per Engblom, who worked with Manchego over the past two years as the assistant trainer for Takter, confirmed that Manchego is now under the care of Nancy Johansson and looks the part.

"She's training back," Engblom told Trot Insider last week. "I see her every day and she looks fantastic, actually...very, very good."

One of the fastest trotting fillies in harness racing history, Manchego (Muscle Hill - Secret Magic) took her mark of 1:50 in the 2018 Hambletonian Oaks while finishing a nose back of rival Plunge Blue Chip in a world record 1:49.4 in the Del Miller Memorial. She'll look to add to her $1.6 million bankroll against fellow four-year-olds Atlanta, Phaetosive and Plunge Blue Chip, graduating to the older trotting mare division to tangle with the likes of Dream Together, Emoticon Hanover and Hannelore Hanover.

“Jimmy did the staking; he’s the manager, I guess you could say, while Nancy (Johansson) is training her,” added Guariglia. “She’s pretty much staked to all the big races, but we don’t want a ton of starts. We just want her to be at her best when she races.”