The Old Man of the Mountains Series III – Race 1
A mile on the Firm Turf Course
$50,000
All horses, 8 years old and up, Non-Winners of THREE within the last year
If you don’t know about this great series, it started two years ago 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 RiverDance and the LilBitFarms Stables and their grand old horse, USA 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 THREE in the last year 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 two in a year. 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 – ALLPENTUP | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | LAST WIN | EARNINGS |
| 10/1 | Reminder | 8 YRS | 51 | 9 | 108.04 | 13 Back | $192,409 |
The biggest problem for this stressed out old guy is that he’s hardly ever stepped on grass that he wasn’t going to eat. His last Turf outing was over two and a half years ago and at this advanced age, I doubt if he can remember that far back. Trainer Reminder will have to “remind” him what it is like to have the green stuff tickle his toes. It’s been more than a dozen races since he’s found his way to the circle so this change may be warranted!
| 2 – FIFTH ACE | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | LAST WIN | EARNINGS |
| 22/1 | Benning | 8 YRS | 25 | 6 | 100.10 | 4 Back | $71,706 |
This pretty old chestnut girl has decided to have a run with the old gents. She looks pretty good at eight years old but well she should with only an average of about three races a year! What the heck has she been saving it for? There isn’t a huge gap that she took off either, it just appears that she likes to pace herself in between her races. A gal has to build her strength back up doesn’t she? Trainer Benning is hoping that she can really exert herself and make it through this ten race series. That would really increase her lifetime starts!
| 3 – WHISPER | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | LAST WIN | EARNINGS |
| 7/1 | Be1stFarms | 9 YRS | 78 | 23 | 113.41 | Last Out | $808,228 |
This decorated old gal is a five times Stakes winner that is still putting up some numbers. She has won an amazing 23 races and it is a miracle that she hasn’t been retired to the breeding shed at this point in her career. Trainer Be1stFarms knows that she has still has the heart of a champion and loves to run. I’m rooting for this fine old lady and hope she does well in the series. I would be honored and privelidged to have one of her offspring in my barn some day.
| 4 – COOL FOR CATS | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | LAST WIN | EARNINGS |
| 7/1 | Collin99 | 8 YRS | 59 | 16 | 116.36 | 9 Back | $310,296 |
This former Stakes winner was still hitting triple digit SPFs last year but the last time he ran on grass was in a dinosaur race ages ago. Trainer Colin99 may have a bit of trouble getting him onto the course as he will be so unfamiliar with that green stuff under his feet. It remains to be seen whether you can teach an old dog new tricks at this advanced age. We will see if Cool For Cats is Cool for grass!
| 5 – FURIOUS ODYSSEUS | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | LAST WIN | EARNINGS |
| 9/1 | Redrum | 8 YRS | 55 | 13 | 101.03 | 8 Back | $218,811 |
Trainer Redrum must have been scouring the claiming wires to come up with this ill tempered old goat. What is he so Furious about anyway? He has double digit wins although not quite as much speed history as some of the other Senior Citizens in the race. He had better look like he wants to be the first one to the bingo hall when the race starts because he will have lots of competition wanting to brag about the race back at the old folks home.
| 6 – ROBERT THE BRUCE | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | LAST WIN | EARNINGS |
| 5/1 | Dioscuri | 8 YRS | 46 | 9 | 113.19 | 10 Back | $255,619 |
This regal old gent is still competitive at his advanced age. That Geritol that trainer Dioscuri is putting in the oats must be working! Mostly a dirt runner, he did win a turf outing 42 races ago. Do you think that there is any chance that his elderly mind can remember that far back? Some say that it is just like riding a bike and you never forget but somehow I find it hard to believe that this old fogey ever rode a bike even in his younger days.
| 7 – SEEKING DIXIE | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | LAST WIN | EARNINGS |
| 34/1 | 7Heaven | 8 YRS | 9 | 3 | 94.80 | 2 Back | $ 31,237 |
This old wanderer is really putting it on the line by entering a ten race series with only NINE races on his resume. Surely he must have plenty of energy left after virtually taking his entire life off! Trainer 7Heaven saw something in him and claimed him two back. He has been in the money in every turf race he’s entered but of course that is only a list of five races. He didn’t want to overdo it. Has he saved up enough to win here…stay tuned!
| 8 – USA | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | LAST WIN | EARNINGS |
| 7/1 | RiverDance | 8 YRS | 72 | 19 | 117.19 | Last Out | $ 668,769 |
Our host for this series is this patriotic old gent who is looking for that elusive twentieth win in a storied career. He is a six time Stakes winner and has finished on the board an amazing 43 times in his 72 races. He appears to be ready to take on all challengers here and trainer RiverDance has him rested and ready. Both hosts in the previous OMOTM series were able to win a race during their series. I have a feeling that this old guy will proudly fly the red, white and blue in the circle for this series too.
| 9 – DEPUTY WOOD | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | LAST WIN | EARNINGS |
| 10/1 | JeslanFarm | 10 YRS | 44 | 8 | 104.02 | 3 Back | $ 213,047 |
Ah, a two race winner from our first series returns for another go around. He actually finished third in that series. He has only run five times since that OMOTM Series one back in ’06 so he must have been saving himself for this one. Trainer JeslanFarms has been with this old guy every step of his long career and as he enters his “teen” years in 2008 knows just where he likes massaged and rubbed down. Of course those massages seem to have come a lot more often in recent races.
| 10 – LEGADILLO | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | LAST WIN | EARNINGS |
| 4/1 | LuvsTheKey | 8 YRS | 43 | 13 | 103.90 | 6 Back | $212,515 |
This regal guy with the strange name and the excellent pedigree is aging like fine wine. In his last 25 Turf outings he has finished out of the money only twice. Trauner LuvsTheKey knows that he seems to prefer the sprints at this stage of his career but the mile shouldn’t work against him here with this over the hill gang. It will be interesting to see how he stacks up against this bunch of old dirt champs and retreads. I will be watching carefully.
| 11 – BRATTICUS | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | AVG SPEED | EARNINGS |
| 15/1 | TheFred | 9 YRS | 41 | 7 | 102.66 | 6 Back | $274,287 |
Another big question mark among this geritol set. He has been competitive in his recent races but they are on the clay and he hasn’t been enamored with the grass under his walker wheels. Perhaps trainer TheFred has it in mind to allow him to compete for the prestigious Sun Dial award at the other end of the series. With this group, that is as important as the winner of the series itself.
| 12 – LARIONOV | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | LAST WIN | EARNINGS |
| 14/1 | IrishMan | 8 YRS | 39 | 6 | 102.03 | 2 Back | $ 72,793 |
I don’t know about you but this old brown horse has been with trainer IrishMan since his birth and I sure don’t think that is an Irish name. He hasn’t traipsed around the grass much during his career and it’s a bit late in life to make a career change but you just never know in this series. When you have horses that are old enough that they may have pulled around Roman chariots they’ve seen and done plenty in their lifetimes and may be ready for a new challenge.
| 13 – PRESTO(GB) | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | AVG SPEED | EARNINGS |
| 65/1 | ErnieMan | 9 YRS | 61 | 14 | 96.67 | 7 Back | $277,628 |
It’s nice to have a familiar face back from our second OMOTM series. This old magician actually won a race in that series and was in the running for the series championship right up to the last race. He will really have to pull a rabbit out of his hat to compete here because although he has been quite successful on the green stuff over his career, it was almost exclusively on marathon jaunts around the track. Maybe trainer ErnieMan has some insight and thinks that it is time to shorten up the distance a little in his advanced state of aging.
| 14 – FIVE ALARM FIRE | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | LAST WIN | EARNINGS |
| 29/1 | WindHmHill | 8 YRS | 34 | 6 | 96.10 | 5 Back | $48,476 |
This old fire captain started off his career slowly with only three outings in his first three years of racing. He has literally been a work horse since then though as he has found renewed youth on the grass late in life. Trainer WindHmHill is a veteran of these series and saw something in this old guy and claimed him to race in the series. They could be a good team together and the trainer has been known to make some weird concoctions to feed the old vets to get them through the grueling series. Perhaps the magic will work again.
Morning Line = 10-6-3-4-8
Paz Picks = 10-8-3-7
It is always tough to pick the first race in the series. In this series it is almost as important to pick the last place as the first. I am choosing BRATTICUS to finish at the back of the pack but he could be challenged by LARIONOV to finish about a state and a half behind the field. I always like to mention our host, and USA could be a player here. I think that he has a realistic chance here. I have SEEKING DIXIE. who may be seeking a win in fourth place on my card. I’m going to take WHISPER to quietly finish in third. I like this young eight year old whippersnapper USA to battle it out for the win but fall just short. I am going with the morning line favorite, LEGADILLO 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!
