Mansetti, the Ulwellings, and a Dream Fulfilled
- HBPA
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Mansetti, the Ulwellings, and a Dream Fulfilled
By Jennifer Morrison
About 10 years ago, Al and Bill Ulwelling from Elk River, Minnesota approached Woodbine trainer Kevin Attard and told him they wanted to invest in Canadian racing.
“We told him we wanted to have horses race in all the big Canadian races and try and win them,” said Al. “He probably thought we were a little crazy at that time.”
The Ulwellings had been leading owners at Canterbury Downs in their home state and moved into breeding their own horses to better their racing stock. Al, 50, and father Bill, 72, had raced a few horses at Woodbine. It was a trip to the Toronto track in 2014 to watch one of their horses that sold them on setting up a breeding and racing business in Ontario.
“We went to see Pumpkin Rumble run in the Toronto Cup and they put us up in the Woodbine Club and the facilities there were amazing,” said Al. “Everyone was so nice. My Dad and I went back home and looked at the Ontario breeding programs and awards and decided to go for it.”
The Ulwellings burst onto the Ontario racing scene like a sprinter from the gate. Pumpkin Rumble led the first strong of Ulwelling horses into Attards barn in 2017 and the English Channel gelding won half a dozen races at Woodbine including two Valedictory Stakes (G3).
In 2020, the Ulwellings' Stephen, an Ontario bred purchased at a Florida 2-year-old sale, won the prestigious Coronation Futurity.
In 2021, one of their first homebreds foaled at Glenn Sikura's Hill 'n' Dale Farm, Haddassah, charged to victory in the Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie, the second jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown. They won it again the next year with homebred Velocitor and led all owners at Woodbine for the season by purses at $1.2 million.
On August 16 amidst the pomp and pageantry at Woodbine, the Ulwellings won the biggest race in Canada and the longest continuously run horse race in North America, the King's Plate, with Mansetti.
The celebration didn't go exactly as they planned – Bill Ulwelling suffered a heart attack on his way to the winner's circle only to be saved by his pacemaker. But once the family was back home in Minnesota, they could bask in the big win.
“It was the most beautiful race,” said Al, who watched the Plate trackside with wife Gabriella. “[Jockey Moran] Pietro did exactly what Kevin told him to do; go to the lead with Mansetti and come off the rail and wait for someone to come inside so he could track. I was blown away when no one went at Mansetti.”
Mansetti went on to a 2 1/2 length victory in the Plate, collecting $600,000, and becoming Attard's third Plate winner in four years. Mansetti, by Collecting, was a 2-year-old in training purchase at the 2024 April Ocala sale for $40,000. He was bred by American sportscaster Jim Rome.
Now that they are fully deep into the Ontario racing and breeding industry, the Ulwellings plan on winning another Plate, but with one of their homebreds.
“We have worked on getting better mares. They are bred by Kentucky stallions, foaled in Canada and then go back to Kentucky to be raised. We are also at looking at breeding more to Ontario stallions.”
As for immediate goals, it's on to the Prince of Wales for Mansetti and if he is the boss there, the Ulwellings could be trying for a Triple Crown in the fall.