By John Hernandez

ALTOONA, IA—OCTOBER 13, 2016—A little over 12 months ago, when trainer Manny Mojica-Campos showed up at the Prairie Meadows racing office, he didn’t have a single horsemen’s license to his name.

But what he did have was an unwavering desire to move from breaking and training horses on the farm to saddling Quarter Horses at the racetrack. That and the backing of businessman and equine enthusiast Tom Scheckel, who has burst on the scene as the leading owner at Prairie Meadows for the last two seasons.

“Mr. Scheckel wanted me to come to work at his farm,” Campos recalled. “But I really wanted to train race horses at the track!”

“He told me, early in 2015, that if I could earn my trainer’s license, he’d give me some race horses to train,” the affable young conditioner added. “So I came to Prairie Meadows, got licensed as a groom, then as a gallop boy, and ultimately–by the start of the 2015 Quarter Horse season–as a trainer.”

Campos had a lot to learn about life at the racetrack that initial season. His first starter, Goin Down Sweet, finished last on the first day of the meet. And ditto for Watch My Wallet Loto, one of his current stable stars, last in a field of 10 a week later.

It took Campos until the final weekend of the 2015 season to saddle a winner, and he did it twice with Oak Tree Coed on October 8 and Watch My Wallet Loto on October 9.

This season, Campos wasted no time in sending out a winner. Ferrari James, the only three-time winner at Prairie Meadows so far this season, won a trial for the Iowa Double Gold Derby on the first day of the 2016 meet, outrunning seven rivals including “horse for the course” The Fiscal Cliff.

The three-year-old son of Ivory James-Ferrari Fast Page (Mr Jess Perry) validated that effort with a late-charging repeat win over The Fiscal Cliff in the finals of the $84,179 Iowa Double Gold Derby on September 3.

Then, on September 30, Ferrari James scored again in a trial for the $108,497 Altoona Derby, stamping himself as the fastest qualifier for this Saturday’s “money run” with a time of 19.697 seconds for 400 yards.

“He’s a real pro,” Campos said of Ferrari James. “He’s easy to train, easy to manage in the barn, and he knows what to do every step of the way from galloping, to working out, to race day.”

“I expect him to run well again,” the trainer –who also qualified Macgyver Moonflash to the race– commented. “He’s done so well this season and he’s coming into this race real sharp.”

Campos increased his victory count for the current Prairie Meadows season to 10 when Dash For Number One won the final race of the day on Sunday October 9.

Two of those wins have come from Watch My Wallet Loto, who qualified to Saturday’s Polk County Derby with the fifth fastest time of 19.869 seconds for 400 yards.

“He’s won his only two starts this season, an allowance race and the derby trial,” Campos noted. “He ran six times last season before he finally won, so I’m thrilled with what he’s shown us so far this meet in just a couple of tries.”

It’s all come quickly for Campos, who sometimes has to take a deep breath and pause when he considers how quickly and successfully his so far brief training career has developed.

“I was the new kid in town last season,” he remembered. “People weren’t sure who I was and what I could do. I had to prove myself to the horsemen, the stewards, the starter, the gate crew, and everyone else. Now, I feel like I belong here.”

Campos offered this bit of advice for any young aspiring trainer who is starting from the ground floor. “If you want it, work hard, learn everything about the business, and you can make it!”