The Old Man of the Mountains Series II – Race 1
A mile and three quarters on Fast Dirt
$50,000
All horses, 8 years old and up, Non-Winners of TWO within the last 6 months
If you don’t know about this great series, it started last year with Sunnybank hating to see the end of MEAT LOAF LOOP’s career come about too quickly so he set up a ten race series where “MEATY” would host the races with his conditions and any fellow old codgers could join in the fun and gather points during the series for scoring first through third in the races. The twist to this series is that if you win, you have to wait for the Host to win too or you won’t qualify for subsequent races until he does. It proved to be great fun last year and went down to the wire with the final race deciding the winner of the series. This year our host will be trainer LilBitFarms and his grand old horse, T. LOCK who has had a nice long career and is ready for one last hurrah.
Thanks for joining us at the Pastures of Green here in Vermont, for a wonderful and truly fun series. This week we are running an eight year old NW of two in Six months but that could change for the next race with either a win by our host or if he doesn’t he is actually able to move it back down to NW of one in six months. We have enough experience gathered in this race to probably eclipse the rest of the card at Vermont this weekend. It is always a fun series and a great opportunity for some of our elder statesmen.
No disrespect meant to these truly respected veterans but I’ve tried to write this preview with a bent toward having some fun with this series. I hope that you enjoy it and accept it with that in mind. We’ve got a nicely matched field of old codgers so let’s take a look before one of them expires!:
| 1 – ST. GIRLFRIEND | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | LAST WIN | EARNINGS |
| 37/1 | DB | 8 YRS | 76 | 13 | 104.79 | 19 Back | $170,423 |
Seventy Six races and this old codger still can’t seem to make up his mind whether or not he likes the grass or the dirt better! He is almost evenly divided between the two in his many forays around the track and trainer DB is still putting this gentleman with the strange name out there. At least he won’t have to run quite as far from this post position which could be a HUGE help in this race! | 2 – ZOOMIE F. | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | LAST WIN | EARNINGS |
| 7/1 | Quiet2 | 8 YRS | 51 | 4 | 101.22 | 21 Back | $101,539 |
This is a pretty spry eight year old but it’s been so long since he’s seen the winner’s circle that he would have to ask for directions if he happens to win. You know that a male would never do that! He has never run this distance before and might have to sleep a week after going that far if he makes it in this race. Trainer Quiet2 is quietly confident that this could be a good spot for this old guy.
| 3 – T. LOCK | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | LAST WIN | EARNINGS |
| 15/1 | LilBitFarm | 8 YRS | 68 | 19 | 106.48 | 6 Back | $ 338,811 |
This well respected horse is the reason for this race with owner LilBitFarm unwilling to part with a favored friend. An two times Stakes winner and runner for LilBitFarm since early in the 2002 season, he has well over 300k dollars in earnings and an incredible 19 wins. In his past ten races he has three wins and four seconds in Starters Allowance races. Still competitive, this ancient warrior is taking on all comers in this interesting series. It will certainly be lots of fun to follow his progress. Hopefully he will last for at least 10 races! | 4 – GRIM WEDDING(IRE) | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | LAST WIN | EARNINGS |
| 10/1 | PoeFalls | 8 YRS | 39 | 4 | 98.61 | 13 Back | $94,872 |
Another interesting name for this race, you have to wonder where it came from. You have to wonder if this grizzled vet will be up for this distance as well because he’s never really run that far. He took a couple of years off early in his career and that might be just the ticket to give him the energy to perform here. There are rumors that he was traveling around Europe during that time hitch hiking with a backpack. He may need to hitch a ride here by the time the race is through. | 5 – IRON GOLEM | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | LAST WIN | EARNINGS |
| 6/1 | NovaJoe | 8 YRS | 65 | 16 | 107.94 | 3 Back | $397,928 |
A late arrival to the party, this Senior Citizen had to wait for his AARP card to come through and you know how long those things can take. But he is ready to go and one of the favorites and with good cause. He won a Stakes race just three back but he is an off track specialist and the weatherman is calling for nothing but blue skies across Vermont this weekend. He is still a horse to be reckoned with in this race though and should be in contention. | 6 – BELL COGNAC | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | LAST WIN | EARNINGS |
| 17/1 | Cabin | 8 YRS | 55 | 9 | 111.14 | 12 Back | $177,722 |
This old fellow has been training for this race by taking off the beginning of the year. The only problem with that is that trainer Cabin kept putting him in races and he keeps finishing near the bottom. He isn’t keen on running this far either so it will be interesting to see if he can contend for that Reverse Win crown and finish closer to the rear than the front. After 55 times around the track he should be able to find just where he wants to go if the body is still willing. | 7 – SECOND STRIKE | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | LAST WIN | EARNINGS |
| 81 | NoraNadia | 8 YRS | 49 | 6 | 106.88 | 16 Back | $185,951 |
This old guy just went through a four race series called the Versatility Challenge. Next he is going to try out for the cast of Survivor! I think that he and trainer NoraNadia think that this is a reality series being filmed for the tube! He actually hit triple digits a couple of times as recently as last year but he is more sprint oriented and may find this distance a bit tiring. Hopefully he can keep his walker moving that long!
| 8 – BRATTICUS | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | LAST WIN | EARNINGS |
| 4/1 | TheFred | 8 YRS | 31 | 5 | 102.66 | 6 Back | $215,489 |
A kind of lightly raced eight year old, averaging a little over four races a year for his career. He ran a bunch of those last year though and proved he could go a distance in good time. He had the old legs moving pretty quick and should be one of the front runners at the end. He may need to stop for oxygen before hitting the barn but trainer TheFred has to feel like he will more than make up for those small social security payments with a paycheck in this race.
| 9 – GREEN BLUFF | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | LAST WIN | EARNINGS |
| 19/1 | QuartzSite | 10 YRS | 18 | 3 | 90.28 | 8 Back | $12,513 |
Wow, talk about saving yourself…this ten year old has run a grand total of 18 races in his career. I guess he wanted to get a little experience on the practice track before starting out in those maiden races as a seven year old!! He should have plenty of energy left in the tank although he isn’t used to running this far. Hopefully he won’t have to take off another five or six years after running this race because he is running out of time! | 10 – THE COW’S MOO | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | LAST WIN | EARNINGS |
| 18/1 | EML1 | 8 YRS | 31 | 4 | 90.57 | 9 Back | $135,508 |
We have an “experienced” woman in the field as well. This grand dame started her career out rather slowly, taking over four years to win her maiden in 205 but has been making up for lost time, with 26 of her 31 races in the past two years. Trainer EML1 know the Geritol secret as this “young” eight year old has been competing in Stakes races as recently as five back. She will need to step up her speed a bit to keep up with this group of senior citizens but perhaps she can use a few feminine wiles to slow some of the old guys down. | 11 – CHARISMATIC DANCE(GB) | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | LAST WIN | EARNINGS |
| 99/1 | Pagasus | 10 YRS | 89 | 8 | 98.89 | 36 Back | $93,795 |
Great, my favorite horse from the first series was able to sneak into this one with his AARP card. Although frowned upon in the racing world, a last place finish in this series is almost as coveted as winning the races. This ancient warrior is a constant threat to bring up the rear like a pack mule and you can bet that he will be giving it the old college try. Trainer Pagusus has promised extra lead in the saddle and extra feed all week long in hopes of anchoring a reverse “win” from his horse. | 12 – BEER RUN | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | AVG SPEED | EARNINGS |
| 10/1 | GreenIrish | 8 YRS | 42 | 10 | 102.35 | 7 Back | $201,965 |
From the looks of things he has spent more time the past three years making “BEER RUNS” than track runs. He has averaged just a bit over three races a year for the past three years and trainer GreenIrish must have been saving him in case a Ten Race Series for 8 Year Olds and Up came around. What luck! If he can stay in the series, he will have used up three years worth of entries! | 13 – NIJINSKY LOVESGOLF | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | LAST WIN | EARNINGS |
| 11/1 | Titleist | 8 YRS | 57 | 6 | 106.78 | 12 Back | $257,425 |
After a long Stakes career, it appears that this guy was just about ready to retire to the golf course before this series came up. There is no truth to the rumor that he was actually running against dinosaurs in those Stakes races because it was so long ago. We will see if he can get the old clock wound up again and go back out to compete or whether he is just waiting around until his next tee time at the Senior Citizen center. | 14 – A. CONTENDER | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | LAST WIN | EARNINGS |
| 9/2 | WindHmHill | 9 YRS | 48 | 6 | 106.89 | 3 Back | $200,156 |
Here is an experienced Gentleman that knows how to play the game. He is one of the winners from the first Old Man of the Mountain series and was a magician at placing in the top few racers to stay eligible but not win too much to keep him from competing. We will see if he can do that again as he is not used to running over a mile. Besides that he is parked way out in the Handicapped lot and may have to run a while just to get back inside where the other old geezers are. Nice to see him back though.
Morning Line = 8-14-5-2-7
Paz Picks = 8-5-14-2-3
In this series it is almost as important to pick the last place as the first. I am choosing CHARISMATIC DANCE and his anchors to finish at the back of the pack but he could be challenged by ST. GIRLFRIEND to finish about a state and a half behind the field. I always like to mention our host, and T. LOCK could be a player here. I will put him in fifth on my board. I think he may finish just behind ZOOMIE F. who may be Zooming into the top of the field. I’m going to take A. CONTENDER who once again will try to play the game right and take third place to make sure he stays in the series. I like this young eight year old whippersnapper IRON GOLEM to battle it out for the win but fall just short. I am going with the morning line favorite, BRATTICUS to win the first race in the series and take the early lead in the OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN standings.
Good luck to all runners!
Email your comments to pazjazz.btb@gmail.comI love to hear from you!
