The Ballad Of Captain Jim

This is the story of a new stable, and an old Sim veteran, and the hope that they can mutually benefit from the beginning of a be-YOOO-tiful friendship.

See, I recently opened another stable. Yes, another stable. I have quite a few already, but I needed some storage space for other recent newcomers from last month’s half-priced breeding frenzy. So this week I emptied a barn, relocated its denizens, and to alleviate some of the overcrowding, I decided getting a new barn was in order. So I got a new one, named it Waquoit, for the talented New England-based handicap star of the late-1980s, and went looking for five starter horses.

And that’s where, purely by random happenstance, I came across Captain Jim.

He’s a seven-year-old son of Captain Bodgit x Far North x Victoria Park, and his last start came in the Grade I Maryland Special. He finished eleventh of fourteen starters, but one could debate whether he was in good enough form to face the likes of Solar Song. I don’t know how or why I found him, but while just randomly skipping pages in the horse pool, I landed on him, saw his pedigree, and figured I should look and see what road brought Captain Jim here. I expected to see him with two or three wins, a load of off-the-board finishes, and an extensive amount of claiming tags for $5,000.

What I discovered instead was that Captain Jim had a past. He won his debut at 3, exactly four years ago this week: July 3, 2004. He floated through allowances through the first half of his four-year-old season, then gave stakes a try late in the spring. In fact at four he was a four-time stakes winner. Then in 2006 he started the year with four straight wins, ending with the Grade III Someone Set Us Up The Bomb Stakes. But like with so many horses usually, the biggest win was the peak performance, one where he’s unlikely to surpass at stakes level. He’d be stakes-placed nine more times, including a third in the Grade III Gallant Socks at the start of last year, and would accumulate 15 wins in his 70 starts. And soon he was descending the class ladder, finally winding up for a $10,000 tag in March of this year.

Not surprisingly, he was claimed. I am pretty sure I’m not alone in liking the “old soldiers never die” angle, in which a successful stakes performer, even in graded races, even on a smaller scale, gets entered for an irresistible claiming tag. Whenever I see one in for a tag, I scrutinize their past performances and take a look at both what their best level was and how close they are to running at that level now. I wasn’t alone, as a few fine trainers decided to give him a shot in just four months.

Pazjazz was first, claiming him and then entering him back at that level next out. He was taken (I think—the past performances get a bit sketchy as to whether someone claimed or bought a starter at auction) for another $10,000. Adrian picked him up next, and ran him back again for $10,000. And again, he appeared to get claimed. The bayooherd entity picked him up this time, and ran in both an allowance and the Maryland Special before being disheartened by his recent form and returning to the main horse pool.

That’s where I found him. His graded win is a faded memory, his speed figures no longer stand out from the pack. And on Sunday evening, there he sat, unknown among thousands. Believe me when I say that I do not judge other players for how they do things, or at least I try not to. I have a big enough racing Empire to look out for. Plus, with an 8% win percentage, who am I to say boo? I mean, I got my Empire’s 1600th win this past weekend, but that does not make me an elder statesmen. It makes me…just a player.

It’s just that I saw Captain Jim in the horse pool, and I couldn’t stop thinking that he’s 30 starts away from retirement. He’s earned his keep as a faithful servant. His $733,000+ in earnings have given him a certain cachet that takes special horses many years of steadiness to accomplish. I thought he had some life left in him, and considered the possibilities in choosing this new barn.

So, did I pick him up?

You bet your a– I did.

I know that odds are he’ll never hit the board in another major race again. I know he’s a veteran, but that also he’s a veteran plater. He’s a horse who tries to bring his game to every start, but time has a way of making one’s luster dim. I didn’t pick him up to turn him into what he once was. But I’m not going to stop working on the big lugnut, either. Even if the Sim is just another game, I do grow attached to the potential of something I created either doing good things or finding salvation for themselves on their level—this is why I have a tendency to find and pick up 0-for-60 maidens and seeing if I could, uh, Eliza their Doolittle, maybe? I always liked Pygmailion, after all. I want to see if I can’t use his last 30 starts and give him a happy ending, or something that fits.

Captain Jim won’t get you high tonight. But maybe he can finish his career with the same flourishes that marked its beginning and its successes. Here’s to hope.