Born:
1970-05-20 Ninas Gerais São Paulo, Brazil Currently Residing: Miami Florida USA Height: - His wife is Sirlene and sons Victor Manoel and Brian. Notes: Manoel Cruz was introduced to horseracing in his childhood days. At the beginning, he used to practice riding with jumpers on a farm in Brazil; this is the place where his father used to work as an assistant trainer. As his father was an assistant trainer in the suburbs of Brazil, Manoel had wide scope of learning the art of horse racing from the early days of his life. He started riding at fifteen and was graduated at sixteen from a jockey school in Brazil. For a couple of seasons, he was among the leading jockeys in Brazil and in 2006 he became the leading rider at the Calder Race Course. Even in 2002, Manoel was the leading rider at Tampa Bay Downs. Before coming to the United States in 2000, he had already won twelve hundred racing titles at Hipodromo Cidade Jardim in Sao Paulo, Brazil. |
| Year | Races Run | Wins | Place | Show | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 40 | 3 | 2 | 4 | - |
| 2010 | 1022 | 181 | 187 | 150 | - |
| 2009 | 1067 | 234 | 198 | 169 | - |
| 2008 | 1174 | 218 | 204 | 192 | - |
| 2006 | 776 | 142 | 118 | 99 | - |
| 2005 | 1678 | 322 | 280 | 247 | - |
| 2004 | 1198 | 203 | 173 | 201 | - |
| 2003 | 1579 | 262 | 241 | 228 | - |
| Stakes win during Gulfstream 2005 came with a heady ride aboard D̢۪Wildcat Speed in the Rampart Handicap |
| Was the leading rider at the 2003 Calder meet with over 160 wins and in excess of $3 million in earnings |
| His 197 winners during Calder̢۪s 2005 summer meet was second best in the track̢۪s 34-year history |