story by Dave Briggs / photos by Michael Burns
Winning the King’s Plate and being voted the Sovereign Award winner as Canada’s 2025 Horse of the Year are both incredible feats, but neither are as impressive as what Mansetti did to prolong owner Bill Ulwelling’s life.
This was, of course, after Mansetti nearly killed Ulwelling in the seconds after securing Plate glory last August at Woodbine Racetrack.
“Right when the horse hit the line, my father’s pacemaker kicked off and he had a heart attack,” said Al Ulwelling, Bill’s son and partner in the horse racing business.
David Anderson, whose Anderson Farms of St. Thomas, ON foaled Mansetti, watched in horror as Bill collapsed on the tarmac due to the excitement of winning the $1 million race.
“Right after the race, Bill came running over to my box and I gave him a big bear hug, and he gave me a big bear hug, and he went down the stairs and had a heart attack right on the apron right in front of me,” Anderson said.
But instead of Mansetti nearly killing Bill, both father and son choose to credit the horse for saving Bill’s life. The heart attack was the impetus for Bill to lose weight and start eating better.
“[My father has] probably dropped 50 pounds… He’s fine now and he puts it all on Mansetti for kick-starting his life change,” Al said.
Such is the power of horses, particularly for the fun-loving pair of Minnesotans who operate A & B Welding & Construction and Crane Services together and share a deep love of owning, breeding and, especially, racing Thoroughbreds in Ontario.
FROM MINNESOTA TO ONTARIO WITH LOVE
How a couple of proud Minnesotans ended up racing and breeding horses in Ontario is an interesting yarn.
Despite years as the leading owners at Canterbury Park in Minnesota, Al said he and his father ended up losing a lot of money because, “the purses could not sustain what we wanted to do. We wanted higher-caliber horses and we wanted to try to break even one time.
“We wager on horses quite a bit and we kept watching Woodbine and seeing this beautiful, long turf course and racing on the Tapeta [main track] and we said, ‘Wow, that’s an impressive place.’ Then [in 2017] we ran a horse up there called Pumpkin Rumble and my father and I and our kids and our wives and everybody went up [to Woodbine] and we were blown away by the facility. It’s just world class.”
Soon, the Ulwellings began searching for an Ontario trainer and called Kevin Attard on the recommendation of Hall of Fame trainer Roger Attfield.
“I called Kevin and the first time it was like I was talking to my best buddy,” Al said. “Kevin’s been with us now for 10, 12 years and it gives us a comfort level of trust. You take that with the world class facilities and the great people at Woodbine and we don’t want to go anyplace else. We know that we could go to Kentucky and compete there and probably make more money with the high purses down there. We know the Canadian dollar is beat up. But, the bottom line is, we’re extremely happy with Kevin and the people at Woodbine, and that’s how it is.”
Anderson said the Ulwellings’ investment in the Ontario horse racing industry has been massive.
“In the last 10 years, the Ulwellings have invested probably more money than anybody buying Ontario-breds as well as investing in the breeding program and foaling mares up here,” Anderson said. “So, kudos to them. They deserve [the success].”
Attard said he is particularly grateful for the Ulwellings’ faith in him.
“It’s been a great relationship,” Attard said standing near the stage after accepting the Horse of the Year award on Thursday night (April 23) at the Paramount Eventspace in Woodbridge, ON. “We get along well. They have a lot of faith and trust in me, and they allow me and my team to do everything that is necessary. They’re very patient and they’re very understanding, and it’s just been a pleasure to work with them. Hopefully there’s many more successes to come.”
Twenty-year-old apprentice jockey Pietro Moran celebrated after riding Mansetti to victory in the 2025 King’s Plate.
Al said a prime example of having faith in Attard and his team was when the trainer asked if 20-year-old apprentice jockey Pietro Moran could ride Mansetti in the Plate.
“He asked about Pietro and I didn’t hesitate for a second,” Al said. “I said, ‘Let’s go. Let’s put him on and let’s rock and roll.’ [Attard said], ‘Are you sure?’ And I said, ‘Yeah. I’m 100 per cent positive. Let’s do it.’ I tell Kevin all the time, ‘You’re the boss. You’re driving the bus. We’re just going to go for a ride with you.’”
On Thursday, Moran was named the Sovereign winner for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey to go with the Eclipse Award he earned in the same category in January.
It’s just another reason to love the story about the Ulwellings and the horse bred by sports radio legend Jim Rome and named for Al’s favourite pizza restaurant.
FROM JUNGLE JIM TO PIZZA BOY
That Mansetti was bred by sports radio legend Jim Rome is just another interesting chapter to the horse’ story.
“I think it’s a credit to the Ontario program that Mr. Rome decided to send the mare up to foal and be a Canadian bred,” Anderson said. “He obviously took advantage of a great program and a million-dollar race.”
Anderson holds a special place in his heart for Mansetti. The son of Collected out of the Sky Mesa mare Gidget Girl arrived on a cold February day in 2022 and is one of the final horses Anderson’s long-time farm manager and friend Ray Carroll foaled. Carroll died at age 58 in December of that year.
The horse that would be named Mansetti sold at the 2024 Ocala Breeders’ Spring Sale of Two-Year-Olds for, what in hindsight, is a reasonable $40,000. It’s an interesting footnote to the story of a horse who has earned $776,003 with a record of 5-2-0 in 11 starts, especially considering the Ulwellings’ bloodstock agent, Clay Scherer, expected the colt to sell for between $150,000 and $200,000.
“[Scherer] said we had to have this horse,” Al said. “Then the sale came around, and he must have called my father [first]. Then they both texted me and they said, ‘We just bought that Collected colt for $40,000.’ I said, ‘What? We must have missed something in the vetting.’ Clay said, ‘No, we’re good.’”
Attard quickly confirmed that, while not completely correct, the colt was fast. He then asked Al to name the colt.
“My wife and I go to Mansetti’s all the time,” Al said. “It’s a pizza shop right by our horse. We love their food… Now we call [the horse] Pizza Boy.”
And boy did he deliver.
Mansetti not only gave the Ulwellings their first King’s Plate, he also provided them with their first two Sovereign Awards.
Al was in Florida on Thursday evening celebrating his wife’s birthday when he heard the news that Mansetti had won the Sovereign Awards for Champion 3-year-old Male and Horse of the Year.
For Attard, Mansetti is his third Horse of the Year following two outstanding mares – Starship Jubilee in 2019 and Breeders’ Cup-winning Moira in 2022.
“This is really special, obviously,” Attard said of Mansetti’s Horse of the Year award, especially since Mansetti looked to be more of a sprinter at 2.
“As he progressed and matured along the [3-year-old] season, he stretched out his speed to two turns and obviously captured a big King’s Plate win… He was honest and tried hard throughout the whole season.”
Trainer Kevin Attard hugged jockey Pietro Moran after Mansetti won the 2025 King’s Plate.
MANSETTI MIGHT TACKLE THE TURF
Both Al and Attard said they are looking forward to Mansetti’s 4-year-old season, which is set to start soon.
“He looks good,” Attard said. “I’m not sure he’s grown or changed much from a physical aspect, but, mentally, he’s definitely a lot more relaxed. He seems a lot cooler in that sense. And he’s been working really well.
“He’s here at Woodbine. We’re getting ready to get his campaign underway. He had a good winter. He was in Florida with us for a little bit and kind of started his conditioning there. I’m just happy to have him back home, and I’m looking forward to getting him started… Obviously, we know that talent is there, and I think if he can just improve a little bit from 3 to 4, then he can have a very good campaign.”
That may include some races on the turf, the trainer said.
“I tried him on the turf once,” Attard said. “I really want to get him back on the turf, because I do think he may appreciate it. So, we have opportunities. And I think the fact that he’s versatile kind of keeps the options open.”
As promised, Bill and Al Ulwelling are just sitting back and enjoying the ride.
“He’s a cool horse to own because he’s not very correct, but he’s just a professional,” Al said.
“I’m excited to get him kicked off this year to see how he competes against the older horses, because we did kind of beat up on the 2- and 3-year-olds. I’m kind of nervous about it. I just want him to be competitive. So, we’re excited to get him going.”
Just so long as the Pizza Boy doesn’t deliver another heart attack.
