OLD MAN Series Back on St Paddy’s Weekend!

The Old Man of the Mountains Series III – Race 3
A mile on the Firm Turf Course
$50,000
All horses, 8 years old and up, Non-Winners of FOUR within the last year

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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.

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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 FOUR 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 three 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.

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Here are the standings to date in the series:

The Leader Standings in the series:
• OASIS CAT (MEP) 6 Points
• USA (RiverDance) 6 Points
• FURIOUS ODYSSEUS (RedRum) 3 Points
• LEGADILLO (LuvsTheKey) 3 Points
• CELTIC LEGEND (Correction) 1 Point
• WHISPER (Be1stFarms) 1 Point

Sun Dial Standings in the series:
• RUBY ATTIC (FaerieBad) 6 Points
• PRESTO (Ernieman) 6 Points
• SLY SHOT (Tsunami36) 3 Points
• LARIONOV (IrishMan) 3 Points
• SERPENTINE INVADER (DarkFaerie) 1 Point
• BRATTICUS (TheFred) 1 Point

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.

It is St Patrick’s Day weekend and we are in the Green Pastures of Vermont. What could be better? It should be fun for all except those old horses who might get a few sore muscles. We’ve got a nicely matched field of old codgers so let’s take a look before one of them expires!:

1 – RECORD SETTER	ODDS	OWNER	AGE	RACES	WINS	TOP SPEED	LAST WIN	EARNINGS
	42/1	GreenIrish	8 YRS	61	12	99.23	2 Back	$ 246,052

”O”kay, this old guy may have set a record in his last race which was obviously a prep for the Sun Dial portion of this race. He had an SPF of ZERO. That’s right a zero…that is the equivalent of standing in the gate and watching until everybody else makes their way around the track. I’m not sure that was what trainer GreenIrish and the Windham Hill Thoroughbreds Stables had in mind for that race. I can pretty much guarantee that if he continues that speed he will definitely be in the running for last place here!

2 – COROKEYPRIN	ODDS	OWNER	AGE	RACES	WINS	TOP SPEED	LAST WIN	EARNINGS
	12/1	IrishMan2	8 YRS	65	12	104.30	6 Back	$ 194,845

I’m going to have to remember this name the next time I play Scrabble or something. I don’t think it is in code, just an amalgamation of all his Sires names. Anyway, he is about as old as his name is long. He ran in the last episode of our OMOTM series and finished a respectable fifth. Trainer IrishMan2 will have to decide if that tired him out or not. You can never be too careful with these old guys. One day you send them out there and they kind of forget where they are and end up taking a nap in the gate. Ask RECORD SETTER about that!

3 – SLY SHOT	ODDS	OWNER	AGE	RACES	WINS	TOP SPEED	LAST WIN	EARNINGS
	18/1	Tsunami36	8 YRS	47	11	102.46	7 Back	$135,263

This Sly old guy was in the the second chapter of our this year’s series and nearly pulled off a caboose act finishing next to last. That will gather points for the Sun Dial award but will gray the hair of trainer Tsunami36 who gets a better paycheck when they finish near the front and not near the rear. Sometimes these sly older horses realize that you can take a race or two off and you still get your oats and a massage back at the barn. We will see if he will try it again this race.

4 – SERPENTINE INVADER	ODDS	OWNER	AGE	RACES	WINS	TOP SPEED	LAST WIN	EARNINGS
	99/1	DarkFaerie	10 YRS	45	5	99.93	2 Back	$ 34,809

This will be the fifth visit tone of the series for this elder statesman. His trainer DarkFaerie is rumored to comb the old folks homes to find entries for the series. Last time out it seemed more like he was wandering around finding his way back to the old folks home. He finished third from the end to gather points in the Sun Dial end of the series. Will he slither on back to the end of the pack again. Stay tuned!

5 – CELTIC LEGEND	ODDS	OWNER	AGE	RACES	WINS	TOP SPEED	LAST WIN	EARNINGS
	5/1	Correction	9 YRS	45	17	121.44	4 Back	$724,480

How could you possibly root against this ancient Leprechaun on St Patrick’s Weekend? He finished in the top three last race and then went out and ventured into another “old guy” race in the Photonic which is based on this series. He and trainer Correction are kind of making the rounds on the Senior Circuit. Who knows, this could turn into a regular tour kind of like they have done in Golf and Tennis. And it all started with the Old Man of the Mountain Series. Maybe we could get the naming rights or something!

6 – LEGADILLO	ODDS	OWNER	AGE	RACES	WINS	TOP SPEED	LAST WIN	EARNINGS
	5/2	LuvsTheKey	8 YRS	44	13	103.90	7 Back	$225,015

I thought sure that this spry eight year older was going to win the first race of this years series but he ran into our inspired host. I don’t think he will be denied this time though as according to trainer LuvsTheKey there were rumors that he was particularly testy back at the Senior Citizens Center after that one. He wouldn’t even come out and run in the second race! He has finally calmed down enough to get back out there but watch out if he comes in second again. You wouldn’t want to be in the range of his cane!

7 – RUBY ATTIC	ODDS	OWNER	AGE	RACES	WINS	TOP SPEED	LAST WIN	EARNINGS
	99/1	FaerieBad	12 YRS	79	7	106.66	10 Back	$ 72,473

The word is that this ancient twelve year old loves the way his lifetime Win-Place-Show numbers line up in a perfect 7-7-7 so he doesn’t want to jeopardize that by getting near the front. That was no problem last time as he proved to be the caboose on the OMOTM field. He is tied for first in the Sun Dial Series and would like to pad that lead a bit. Trainer FaerieBad continually finds new and old blood to populate this series and has an excellent eye for decrepit horses!

8 – WHISPER	ODDS	OWNER	AGE	RACES	WINS	TOP SPEED	LAST WIN	EARNINGS
	5/1	Be1stFarms	9 YRS	79	23	113.41	2 Back	$812,228

Our lone mature lady in the race is this well decorated madam. She finished third in the first outing of the series and completely forgot about the second running. That happens sometimes when you get to be her age. She is here this time though and more than ready to show the boys that she still has some spring in her step. It has been said that trainer Be1stFarms has to drape a horse blanket around her stall because she gets so much attention from the other participants. An old girl has got to like that, wouldn’t you think?

9 – MARIO MOMENT	ODDS	OWNER	AGE	RACES	WINS	TOP SPEED	LAST WIN	EARNINGS
	13/1	Tsunami3	8 YRS	29	7	102.31	3 Back	$ 100,692

After finishing tenth in the last installment of the OMOTM series, this old horse decided to take a two mile jog in a race in between the series just to keep himself mobile. He finished so far back in that race that they had to call the jockeys cell phone to let him know the race was over but he did get that workout in. Trainer Tsunami3 claimed this guy a couple of races back and ever since then his “Mario Moments” have seemed more like hours the way he’s been running. Hopefully, the time change last weekend didn’t mess him up.

10 – FURIOUS ODYSSEUS	ODDS	OWNER	AGE	RACES	WINS	TOP SPEED	LAST WIN	EARNINGS
	6/1	Redrum	8 YRS	57	13	101.03	10 Back	$233,811

Speaking of testy old goats, this guy wears a long face all the time…sorry about that! He is actually one of the favorites to win this series with a fourth and a second in the first two races. Trainer Redrum just has to be sure to use all of the spit and glue he can muster to keep this old guy in one piece through the end of the series. It’s been 10 races since he’s found the winner circle though so if he wins a race, he may need a map to get back there.

11 – SLEEP TO DREAM	ODDS	OWNER	AGE	RACES	WINS	TOP SPEED	LAST WIN	EARNINGS
	12/1	WV	9 YRS	52	10	98.66	2 Back	$176,691

This will be the first venture into the series for the dreamy old fogey. Trainer WV found him hanging around the Social Security office and talked him into coming out of retirement and giving this series a try. Hopefully he won’t fall asleep on the track although in this race he wouldn’t be the first by a mile. Of course he could always dream of winning and that may be enough to get him there. We will see which end of his name works best.

12 – PRESTO(GB)	ODDS	OWNER	AGE	RACES	WINS	TOP SPEED	AVG SPEED	EARNINGS
	74/1	ErnieMan	9 YRS	62	14	96.67	8 Back	$277,628

Ah, the nine year old magician is back again. He ran in the last OMOTM series and finished dead last to conjure up some points in the first race then did a disappearing act in the second race and didn’t show up at all. Was he at a magician’s conference somewhere or did he just forget. Trainer ErnieMan won’t tell and we will see what tricks they have cooked up for this race and whether they can continue to lead the Sun Dial Standings.

13 – USA	ODDS	OWNER	AGE	RACES	WINS	TOP SPEED	LAST WIN	EARNINGS
	5/1	RiverDance	8 YRS	74	20	117.19	2 Back	$ 701,269

Our host didn’t look too geriatric in the first race with a big 106 SPF and a win but in the second he seemed to show a bit of those old bones and muscles when he struggled to get to fourth place. Has he rested up enough to put more points on the leaders board or does it take more than one race to rest up at his advanced age? Trainer RiverDance knows every trick in the book to get these Geritol Guzzling guys up for the race, I wouldn’t count them out.

14 – BRATTICUS	ODDS	OWNER	AGE	RACES	WINS	TOP SPEED	AVG SPEED	EARNINGS
	24/1	TheFred	9 YRS	43	7	102.66	8 Back	$274,287

Definitely a contender for the Sun Dial award in this series he seem just a bit too fast to really get the big points that way. Perhaps trainer TheFred can put more iron in his diet in the shape of an anvil or something. Being parked way out here in the handicapped lot won’t help things and he may be tired by the first pole. He may have a chance here to gain more SD points and keep up in the standings.

Morning Line = 6-5-8-13-10
Paz Picks = 6-13-5-8

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In this series it is almost as important to pick the last place as the first. There are a whole bunch of candidates for the back but I am choosing RUBY ATTIC to finish at the back of the pack but he should be challenged by PRESTO to finish about a state and a half behind the field. There is also a possibility that SERPENTINE INVADER could snake his way into Sun Dial Points. I always like to mention our host, and USA could once again be a player here. He should hit the board but I’m just not sure where. I have put CELTIC LEGEND. on the card in honor of the St Paddy’s Day weekend I’m going to take USA for second and I am going out on a limb once again and predict that LEGADILLO will wheel his walker around fast enough to gather first and take the 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!