Claiming tales ch.4

Old Yorkville Farm  contd.

In January of 1998, we claimed Thepromonroe ( for the first time ) for $25k.  The Pro ( as we called him from then on ) was a New York bred sprinter coming back from a layoff.  Our first horse, Memories of Linda, left The Pro in his dust in the 1997 Hollie Hughes Handicap.  The Pro had some physical problems but was very fast; when right, he was in front as far as he went when racing.

We were hoping to run in the Hollie Hughes again, and The Pro fit the bill nicely.  We entered him in a $35k claiming event at Aqueduct on the inner dirt track he seemed very fond of, to get him ready for a big effort in the Hollie Hughes.  New York, at that time, had a bonus program for New York bred runners; I believe it was a 5% bonus on top of the purse money earned, for claiming races of $35k and above.  The possibility of him being claimed away from us really didn’t factor into our strategy, much to our chagrin.

On race day, The Pro broke on top from an outside post, but came over on one of the other runners, and won easily.  It didn’t seem like much live through the binocs or from the camera angles of the replay in the clubhouse.  The problem, however, was that the jock (Shaun Bridgmohan) looked over his shoulder as he cleared to see if he did something to the other horse; the other horse finished 5th or 6th and his jockey lodged a claim of foul, though the stewards had not put up an inquiry sign.

Not only did the stewards hold up the jock’s foul claim, thus denying us the winner’s purse and NY bred bonus, but The Pro was claimed away from us by Mike Hushion.  Next out, in the Hollie Hughes, The Pro went wire to wire winning the $50k stakes race we so keenly wanted to win ourselves.  Old Yorkville was not accustomed to such adversity in its brief history; it was just the beginning though.

Our next claim was a gray sprinter named Gray Zipper.  He did win a low level claimer for us at Aqueduct on April 4th.  Bridgmohan was up for the ride that day,  and got a little bit of good will back from us that he had lost on The Pro’s DQ.  Gray Zipper had ankle problems and we were lucky to privately sell him for $5k to a trainer based at Suffolk Downs.

The balance of 1998 was not so kind to Old Yorkville.  The only winner we had for the rest of the year was another sprinter by the name of Deal An Ace.  We claimed him for $25k and his first couple of outs were not impressive, to say the least.  We thought that Deal An Ace would be an effective sprinter, but all he was was an effective money burner.

My family had an annual reunion every Labor Day weekend for many years.  The big events were the card game   ( usually 7 card stud ) for the older folks,  the softball game, and the pot luck dinner and desserts.  Most of the card players were also horse players and were interested in how Old Yorkville was faring.  I told them about Deal An Ace   ( whose name they were quite amused at ) and that he was next running in about week at Belmont.  I confidently stated that he would be a live betting proposition ( that confidence came directly from the beer keg I stood close to most of the day ) but I made no guarantees.  Deal An Ace ran his best race for us on Sept 12 in winning something called The National Car Rental purse.  We received a horse’s warm up blanket for the win which my friend Joe still has.  Deal An Ace went off at 12-1, and my family members thanked me profusely for the tip that they all bet quite liberally.  It was the last time I touted a horse at the reunion, figuring I should quit while I was ahead.

We lost Deal An Ace to the claim box soon after that, and it was time yet again to peruse the daily entries and look for that next Old Yorkville runner.

It’s now Dec of 1998.  Well lo and behold.  Thepromonroe was making his return to the races after a layoff, this time in an $18k claimer at Aqueduct.  We still had visions of winning the Hollie Hughes and thought it would be wonderful if The Pro could repeat wearing our silks.  We won the claim, as The Pro went wire to wire winning easily with Aaron Gryder aboard.

After some consideration, we entered The Pro in a $40k claimer, thinking that was a high enough price to deter a claim after the layoff and return at $18k.  The track came up sloppy and Gryder couldn’t ride, so CC Lopez was aboard as The Pro ran last at even money, even though he had shown ability in the slop previously.  We consoled ourselves with the track condition and possible bounce off the return win.

Next up, we entered The Pro in a $35k claimer, thinking that his last performance would ward off any claims.  With Gryder back up for the ride, The Pro smoked that field by 5 ½ lengths in an easy wire to wire effort – and still no claims.

The Hollie Hughes was approaching, but our trainer Dom thought that The Pro could use another race to be ready.  There was a tune-up allowance for $45k that was perfect calendar wise, and since the Hollie Hughes was a $50k purse, we would be essentially trying twice for a nice payday.  Only problem was that Gryder was injured and would not be available for either race.

Dom settled on a California rider ( Heberto Castillo ) and gave him the ride for the $45k allowance.  The race reunited The Pro and Rampant Lion, who he had held off in winning the 1998 Hollie Hughes.  It was virtually a replay, as The Pro went wire to wire for Old Yorkville’s biggest purse win and just held off the late charge of Rampant Lion.

On to the Hollie Hughes.  We were brimming with confidence, as our concerns about the jockey had been alleviated with the allowance win.  We still preferred to have Gryder up, but that was not an option.  The track came up sloppy that day, and a late scratch trimmed the field to five.  We were concerned with Stalwart Member, the 1997 Hollie Hughes winner, who was also very fast and loved the slop.   He had not run since the 1998 Hollie Hughes, so I thought it would be asking a lot.  Two of the others we had beat in the allowance race,  and the other entry was Kashatreya.

The Pro broke on top, rebuffed Mr Buffum and Dr J entering the stretch and looked like a winner.  Stalwart Member was not a factor.  But here comes Kashatreya late, and nailed us on the wire to deny The Pro’s repeat victory.  We always felt that Gryder would’ve gotten the win that day, but that’s horse racing.  Kashatreya went on to win the True North on Belmont Stakes day at 25-1 while we watched without a bet on him, and finished his year with a victory in the Breeder’s Cup Sprint.
Here’s the write up from the track program for the 1999 Hollie Hughes.  You’ll notice the winner doesn’t even get a mention.

 

 

 

I’m going to pause here in the Old Yorkville story ( though we’re not yet finished with The Pro’s history ).  Until next time, good luck and may all your entries be winning ones.

 

 

 

If you missed my prior articles, they can be found at the following links.

Claiming tales ch.1        http://blacktypebugler.com/?p=18140

Claiming tales ch.2        http://blacktypebugler.com/?p=18392

Claiming tales ch.3        http://blacktypebugler.com/?p=19225